Disclaimer: See the first Chapter

~*Chapter 6*~

Aragorn moved the dirt on the ground with his foot, and slowly lifted his head from his hands. He groaned softly as he shifted his position. His limbs were stiff from sitting on the uncomfortable ground. Aragorn's eyes moved to the side where Legolas and Elladan were quietly devising a plan to get them out of the cave.

Legolas sighed as he let his hand rub his weary eyes. The dreariness that radiated from the cave was beginning to get to the elven prince. Getting the feeling of eyes watching him, Legolas turned to where Elrohir and Aragorn were sitting. He gave Aragorn a small encouraging smile, before returning to talk with Elladan.

"So what happens after we have finished mixing this?" He asked, nodding his head towards the liquid mixture in the bowl that Elladan was holding. Elladan opened his mouth, but closed it when nothing came out. Legolas looked at him oddly, and waited for an answer from the eldest twin. The silence did not help to ease Legolas' worry.

"You have not yet come up with a plan?" Legolas raised his voice a notch in an attempt to display his annoyance. Elladan shot him a sharp glance reminding Legolas of where they were. Legolas quickly lowered his voice, and looked over Elladan's shoulder to see if the guards had over heard him, but the two ugly creatures were too absorbed in their own conversation to notice what their prisoners were up to.

"We must get the orcs to breathe in the mixture, it's strong enough to keep them down for hours. However I do not know how we can do this with out alerting the other orcs." Elladan informed his friend. Legolas nodded, as he once more glanced behind his back to see Elrohir tightly wrapped in a cloak. "I can not be that hard, Elladan they are not paying any attention to us. You and I can easily sneak up behind them."

Elladan smiled. "Agreed, we'll surprise them, and hopefully we will be given enough time to escape before they even notice we're missing." Legolas took in a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly, before opening them to look straight into Elladan's chocolate brown eyes and smiled.

"Wait until the guard change…it's shall not be much longer."

Aragorn and Elrohir were given the details into their planned escape, and the four did not have to wait long for the changing of guards. The two orcs stood at the entrance with their backs turned, once again not bothering to pay any care to their captives. Legolas proceeded to tear two small pieces from his cloak, and gave it to Elladan who dipped the pieces of cloth into the mixture.

Cautiously, the pair crept along the cave walls. Elladan exchanged a quick glance with this brother. Legolas suddenly jumped the orc on his side, wrapping his arm around its face and slapping the wet cloth over its nose. In a matter of seconds the orc fell limp in his arms.

Legolas looked to see Elladan placing the other guard carefully on the ground, then run over to where his bother sat to help him to his feet. "We must be quick, Legolas." Elladan wrapped his arms around Elrohir's waist supporting the injured elf. The two stumbled past Legolas.

Aragorn slowly limped up beside Legolas; the dull ache in his muscles grew. Legolas placed his hand on his shoulder. "Think you can make in mellon nin?" Aragorn smiled briefly, "I'll race you." He joked dryly and he followed Legolas down the dark tunnel.

The four rushed through the twists and turns of the cave desperately trying to find their way out of the underground prison. Aragorn could feel his heart thudding against his chest, ready to explode. His breath came out in short gasps, as the pain from his cracked rib shot up through his body.

A sudden cry of anger came from far behind. They had been discovered gone.

"Hurry!" Elladan shouted from ahead, pushing his legs as fast as they would go without causing Elrohir to fall behind. The clanking of heavy armor was getting louder. "They're gaining!" As they continued to run, the tunnel became brighter, indicating that they were nearing the entrance.

In a matter of seconds the four had made their way out into the fresh air.

"Quick head for the forest." Legolas beckoned to Aragorn who was only as few feet behind him. No sooner had the words left his mouth had a group of armed orcs file out of the cave entrance. Aragorn turned his head to see the orcs come into view. The human suddenly tripped over a small hidden rock and fell to the ground with a surprised cry. Legolas watched in horror as his friend fell. Elladan and Elrohir, who had also witnessed the unfortunate mishap, stood by the edge of the forest, frozen.

Time seemed to slow.

"Get as far away as you can! Run!" Without any care for his own well being, Legolas rushed back to help.

Doing the only thing that they could the two elven brothers headed deep into the safety of the forest. "We can't just leave them, Elladan we must go back and help them!" Elladan refused to meet his brother's pleading eyes and continued to make his way farther into the forest. "Elladan, they'll die!" Desperation filled Elrohir's voice.

The pair suddenly stopped. "No." The voice was barely a whisper. "We have to go for help, or they will be dead. Come we should not be too far from Mirkwood's gates." Elrohir looked up into the older elf's eyes-fear was what he saw.

From the corner of his eye Legolas watched Elladan and Elrohir enter Mirkwood's forest. Turning his attention back to his own situation, Legolas quickly helped Aragorn to his feet. By the time Aragorn had steadied himself the two were surrounded by orcs.

Aragorn glanced over at Legolas' emotionless face and felt a pang of sadness enter his heart. He had just forfeit, not only his own, but Legolas' life as well.

Unlike Aragorn, Legolas refused to accept this fate upon them; he was not willing to spend another second in that horrible cave. Before anyone could react, Legolas threw himself at the orc to the side and the two tumbled to the ground. Legolas grabbed the sword from the orcs gigantic hands.

As Legolas tried to get to his feet, four sharp sword tips surrounded Legolas' exposed neck, stopped him from making any sudden move.

Aragorn's eyes widened as he started to make a move towards Legolas, but a sudden pain at the side of his head threw him into a world of darkness. The ranger fell to the ground with a soft cry, and then nothing.

Legolas heard the cry from his friend and tired to shift his body to see what had happened to Aragorn, only to be stopped by the sharp pain of one of the sword's ends digging into his skin. "Don't move." A low growl came from Legolas' side. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

"Find the other two, they can't have gone far!"

Legolas closed his eyes and swallowed at the lump in his throat. He only hoped that his friends would make it to Mirkwood safely.

The last thought he had was to Aragorn and his well being, before the sudden crushing pain exploded in his head as an orc slammed the hilt of it's sword into Legolas' already wounded temple. The elf immediately collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

The lone figure stood alone facing the dark cave wall with his hands behind his back. The only sound was of the water dripping slowly from the rock ceiling, which echoed throughout the cavern.

A small group of orcs entered the small, dimly lit area. With his back to the orcs the figure gracefully lifted his hand, and the orcs stopped in their tracks. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Suddenly the figure spun on his heels to face his company.

Slowly two hands strayed to the edges of the hood covering the figure's face. Long blonde hair fell loosely around his fair face.

"Well?" His hand brushed a strand of hair behind a delicate pointed ear. The elf raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response. Finally one orc stepped forward. "The…the prisoners have tried to escape. We managed to recapture only two."

The elf's eyes flashed with anger, but quickly disappeared. "Do we have the Prince?" He asked sharply.

The orc nodded, not taking its eyes off of the ground beneath its feet.

"Good." The elf replied abruptly, as he turned his back to the orcs. "Leave me. Take your men and search for the two missing prisoners. Don't come back until they have been found, and killed!"

The orc took a small step backwards and turned to leave, but the elf spoke once more.

"Get one of your men to bring me the two remaining prisoners."

The elf was alone; a small grin slowly graced his lips as he folded his arms tightly around his chest. "Soon," he whispered to himself, "Very soon, King Thranduil."

TBC…