Bound by Fate
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, or any of the characters in this chapter. However, I do own the plot, the slightly altered history (this is AU, after all), and whatever odd thoughts happen to come out of my head.
Chapter 1: Capture'I must keep running,' the frantic Elf thought to himself. 'They're catching up to me… curse those stupid Men!' he added. He looked over his shoulder briefly; only long enough to see just how close the Men chasing him on horseback were getting, before focussing once more at the forest he was running through. 'They weren't always this way, though. There was a time when they were our allies. That was before they listened to Sauron the Deceiver…' he mused. As his mind wandered from his surroundings to the past he lost track of the forest around him.
Without his focus on the forest he didn't notice the two men who had pulled a thin cord between two trees at knee height. He ran into it at full speed and bit back a curse as he landed unceremoniously on the forest floor. He tried to get up to start running again, but a heavy weight launched itself onto his back. That weight was actually one of the men that had set the trap for him. "Don't move, Elfie," the Man ordered, placing a long knife against the elf's throat. "I got him, Lord!" he shouted, presumably to one of the men on the horse. The Man grabbed the Elf's bow, but left the empty quiver alone; he didn't notice the twin blades hidden under the elf's tunic, but the Elf made no move to use them. To try to get them out now would not only take away an advantage, it would be suicide.
'Those poor horses… they don't even want to serve their masters,' he thought with pity as he saw a horse's legs beside him. Suddenly someone grabbed his hair and forced him to look up. He saw a tall Man dressed in a typical uniform, although it had gold trim on it. He held himself in a very regal fashion, with his auburn hair and beard trimmed neater than any of the others. 'He must be the Captain of this group,' he mused worriedly.
The Man looked down at the Elf, quickly observing the filthy blonde hair and the worn-looking brown and green ensemble. "Most definitely a Mirkwood traitor. Do you know who I am?" he sneered at the Elf as he dismounted his horse. The Elf's eyes glazed over in an attempt to make himself pass out before they could torture him; this infuriated the Man. He grabbed the Elf's hair and exposed one of the pointed ears; he pinched it cruelly between two nails. The Elf's eyes became clear in an instant and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from crying out. "Do you know who I am?" the Man repeated.
The Elf glared at him. "You are a traitor to all of Middle Earth, you are a murderer, a slaver, a bastard…" his voice trailed off as the Man's hand slapped him across the face.
"I am Prince Boromir, and you are the traitor. Anyone who rebels against Lord Sauron is a traitor," he said harshly. "Where are your friends? You were coming here to meet someone, I assume," he added, looking around the forest. "Perhaps some Rangers?"
The Elf sighed. "I wanted to talk to the trees without any foolish Men bothering me," he replied mockingly. "Before I was so rudely interrupted by a False Prince…." He stopped again as the Man, Boromir, hit him.
"Milord, you should see this," a new Man's voice called. "I can read Elvish and there is something written on his bow," he added.
Boromir smirked at the Elf, who seemed to be muttering curses. "Bring it here and show me," he ordered.
The Man did as Boromir asked. As he showed Boromir the elvish writing on the bow he translated the meaning. "This is the bow of Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood. May it always hit its mark," the Man said. "What should we do with it?" he asked.
"We'll bring it with us, of course. The King will be pleased to see we have captured an elf," he said. "Tie him up and put him on my horse," he ordered the Man still sitting on Legolas. He mounted his horse and had Legolas put in front of him. He looked around and saw that his unit was ready to move. "Back to the palace!" he called as he started his horse at a brisk trot. A cheer went up behind him as the others followed.
~*~
Legolas wanted nothing more than to get off the horse and run for it, but it was difficult. His hands had been bound tightly behind his back and there was a rope attached to his neck, the other hand conveniently being held by Boromir. Boromir's arm had also found its way around Legolas' slender waist, pulling the Elf against the Man. 'If I can't get off the horse, maybe I can keep the horse from doing what these fools want it to do,' he mused. Deciding on a course of action, he began muttering quietly in Elvish.
Boromir heard Legolas start murmuring something quietly, but couldn't make it out. As it got louder, he noticed that his horse was speeding up. "What are you doing!" he shouted at the Elf. "Stop it right now!"
Legolas looked back at him and gave a maniacal grin. He continued his chanting in elvish. "Noro lim, noro lim, noro lim…" The horse responded well to the chanting and sped up to it's fastest. The unit of men was becoming farther away with every passing moment.
Boromir knew the lay of the land well, and remembered that there was an area with many dips and sharp turns coming up. "You'll get us both killed, you stupid Elf!" he shouted, seeing the first turn coming up.
Legolas didn't heed his warning. He continued to urge the horse on, not noticing the curve until the last moment. The horse took the curve well, but threw both Legolas and Boromir. "Daro! Daro!" he called to the horse. The horse turned around and came back, stopping right in front of Legolas.
Boromir took a dagger out of his belt and held it to Legolas' throat. "If you try anything like that again, I'll kill you!"
He watched as Legolas' eyes acquired a hardness that hadn't been there before. "Good. Kill me. Do you think it makes a difference to me whether you kill me now or imprison me?" Legolas asked with a grave tone.
Before Boromir could respond to the comment, the other Men had caught up. "Give him a sleeping draught, I don't want him causing any more trouble," he ordered. A flask of the draught was procured and handed to Boromir. "Drink up, traitor," he ordered, placing the flask to Legolas' lips.
Legolas closed his mouth tightly, thinking of all the tales he had heard about the draughts. Many elves that had drunk the draught never awoke. He tried to move away, but found that someone was using his hair as a leash. He tried to kick away from the Man holding him, but achieved little success.
Boromir's free hand grabbed Legolas' nose and pinched it shut. Without being able to breath through his nose, he soon had to open his mouth for air. When he did that, Boromir poured the liquid down his throat. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" he asked with a smirk. The Elven Prince didn't seem to understand what Boromir had said: the draught was fast acting, and he was already losing alertness. Boromir watched as Legolas looked around, blinking owlishly in an attempt to remain awake, then collapsed against him with a soft sigh. "Almost too easy…" he murmured to himself before lifting the Elf onto the horse and mounting behind him. "Onwards to Minas Tirith!" he called to the men. There was a loud answering cheer as they began galloping back to the White City.
A/N: I apologize for the lack of details in this chapter, but I did it for a reason. Also, I am posting chapter 2 at the same time, and it has more details. Please r/r, flames welcome as they ill be used to feed my muse.