Chapter 2 – Sundered Paths

The bandit stepped towards Legolas an evil smile upon his face and raised his hand to strike the prince. Behind them Celdor darted forward seizing the raised hand and pushed Nareth back earning himself a blow to the head. Celdor reeled and steadied himself to find five crossbows leveled at his head.

"You will pay for that fool of an elf" rasped the man striking him across the face.

"You will pay twenty times over for that." Celdor glared at him fearlessly and if looks could kill Nareth would have been dead long before the fall of Númenor.

"Daro! Celdor mellon nin. Hannon le. Go back to your place." the prince's voice rang with authority and strength. "Nareth, you will take up any injury my followers do with me. I am their leader and responsible for their actions. Let them go!" Nareth stiffened at the commanding tone of that voice fair and clear as it was. He glared at Celdor for a moment and then an evil smile touched his lips as he turned from Celdor to Legolas.

"Very well your highness, your wish is my command" his smile broadened "But first that over-enthusiastic hero of yours will watch the consequences of his actions. As a prince you receive double the curtesy of your elves."

Legolas bowed his head silently, he could endure pain and did not fear death but it pained him to be used against his friend this way and to be whipped like a slave in front of his warriors was an affront to his pride and worse a scene that he did not wish these young untried warriors to see. And he did not wish anyone to see the still healing scars on his back from his last confrontation with the outlaw. Still it was far better than watching as his friend was beaten for defending him. He looked Nareth in the eyes and held them unwilling as his hands were wrenched behind his back and bound together. A soft cry of dismay from Celdor made him turn and he smiled gently at his friend willing him to not hold himself accountable for this. Then his legs were kicked from under him and he sank to his knees head held high.

Nareth turned his men and smiled again. As one of the bandits slit his tunic another of them handed Nareth Legolas's bow, he looked down at the golden-haired elf proud and strong even in chains and leaned forward and snapped it in front of his captive's face.

The bowstring released from the tension snapped forward leaving a bloody weal on the elf's face. Nareth laughed "Whipped by your own bowstring, you highness." The prince did not flinch at the sudden pain or the harsh words. He laughed even louder when he saw the scars on the prince's back. Legolas closed his eyes as he heard a sudden murmur of Sindarin from the elves.

Nareth's men shoved the prince around as their leader spun and using the broken half of the bow as a handle turned the bowstring on its former owner. The prince winced slightly as the bowstring opened a half-healed weal. Inwardly he gritted his teeth hoping that the mad bandit would stop at forty. Somehow he doubted it. A sudden unbidden image of his father's face when he stumbled home with more un-princely scars made him smile as the bowstring cut into his weakened back. The elves astonished smiled back half-heartedly unable to see the havoc the bowstring was wrecking on their smiling prince's back and with those timid smiles something in him hardened, however long Nareth chose to drag this out he would keep his head held high smiling for the sake of these young warriors. He had brought them to the forest to train them and by the grace of Elbereth he would even if not in the manner he had intended.

Nareth unsurprisingly and conveniently forget that he had set a limit on the beating. When his arm finally tired the prince was still holding himself straight and tall though with an effort. Nareth leaned over looking onto his eyes hoping to see fear and pain but to his disappointment he saw the opposite in those ageless depths. Weariness and sorrow he saw but more so determination and strength and worst of all pity. He scowled and looked away unable to bear that calm look that he so plainly read in his captive's face, his captive, who should have been cringing in pain and fear, worried about what his captor would do to him. He scowled more furiously, angry with himself for the fear he felt towards this elf, angry with the elf for his fearlessness, angry with the world and his men but especially with the elves and their prince.

In that moment he determined to see this elf fall, he wanted to see that calm strength wiped away and in its place see fear and the pain that he must be feeling. He turned back to the elf and smote him savagely across the face. The elf's head snapped to the side his hair whipping with the force of the blow but there was no sign of fear as he raised his bruised and bloodied face and looked his tormentor in the eye. He turned to the other elves and smiled as he saw the pained looks on their faces at this treatment of the prince they had sworn their lives to protect. He smiled more broadly and yanked one of the prince's braided locks of hair free of the rest. It was tangled and bloodied; he pulled it taut and severed it with his dagger. Turning he tossed to towards Celdor.

"Here take this token to your king, if he wishes to see his son again in this life he will meet my demands."

"What are your demands adan?" asked the prince his voice low and determined.

"You need not concern yourself with that, your highness" he snapped "my demands are for your father and not for your ears. Here get him on the horse." He said turning toward two of the bandits.

"Celdor, tell my father that I know he will do nothing that would endanger the realm or our people. Remind him that it is thus that I would have it and I count my life as little for the safety of my king and my people. Gar-estel!" Legolas's soft voice reached his friends as he was roughly dragged to one of the horse and his bound hands roped to its bridle. The elves stood silently watching as their prince vanished into the distance. Then they turned and hastened back to the path towards their king. (Have hope!)