"That's them, all right," Damus whispered, peering through the vegetation that concealed him and Elladan. They had arrived at the camp where they hoped to find Elrohir no less than five minutes ago, and silently as possible, they snuck as close as they could to investigate.

"My brother--do you see my brother anywhere?" Elladan asked, scanning the area frantically. One of those sleeping figures had to match the figure of his twin. They just had to! He couldn't make out any that could be an elf, however, and he was starting to get a little panicky. If Elrohir wasn't here--

"There," Damus said quietly, pointing towards the north end of the camp. Elladan looked to where Damus gestured and sure enough, he could make out a lone figure lying on the ground, slim and smaller than the others. He was covered with a blanket and his back was towards them. Elladan instantly knew it was Elrohir.

"That's him!" Elladan said, straining to keep his voice a whisper when he wanted to do nothing more than shout out Elrohir's name. "Thank the Valar, we found him."

"Shh," Damus said, afraid the elf was whispering too loud. "You'll have to skirt the camp over to the north side. Fortunately, the man on watch is an idiot and cares nothing for the prisoner. He's sitting down there on the south end. And there are only a few men around Elrohir, but they're fast asleep. This might be easier than we thought, Elladan!" he said, grinning. "Go now, we shouldn't waste any time. I'll come around with you to the north end and wait for you in the brush while you grab Elrohir. I'll help you carry him and we'll get out of here as fast as we can."

"What about the horses? Should we try and take one?"

"No, the watchman would hear us for sure. We'll get a good enough head start if we can sneak out unnoticed."

Elladan nodded. "Alright, let's go." Normally he would have been very nervous about what he was attempting to do, but with the elation of having found his twin, combined with the adrenaline that was pumping through his blood, he felt nothing but sheer determination.

The two figures made their way silently around the camp to the north side. Damus crouched down behind a bush and nodded to Elladan, signaling him to go ahead. Elladan nodded back, meaning it as a gesture of thanks to Damus for being there with him. Damus understood and waved him on.

Elladan crept ahead, making absolutely no noise. He had never been more grateful for his elven abilities than he was at this moment. He stopped a couple yards away from Elrohir to examine the camp once more. No one was stirring. The silence hung about Elladan like something desperately fragile. Elladan had to make sure nothing would break it.

He turned his attention to his brother lying motionless several feet away. He could make out a few more details of his condition now that he was closer and his back was not to him. Elladan was relieved to tell from his brother's position that he had not been bound. But that also meant that he had never been conscious either, which could not be a good thing. He silently closed the remaining gap between him and Elrohir, and knelt beside his brother, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. It was then that he noticed that there was a gag in Elrohir's mouth. Elladan flushed with anger. No one had the right to treat his brother like that, least of all these disgusting, despicable outlaws. He hurriedly untied it and pulled it away from his brother's mouth. He was about to toss it aside when he noticed it was covered with blood. His stomach gave a very unpleasant lurch and he quickly glanced back to his brother's face, desperate for more clues as to his condition. He was still alive, wasn't he? 'Yes, he's breathing,' Elladan thought, a small sigh of relief escaping him, 'albeit weakly, but still breathing.' He had to start working on healing him as soon as possible. But first he had to get him out of this camp and away from these horrible men.

He slid an arm as carefully as he could under Elrohir's neck and another arm under his knees. Moving as cautiously as he could, he braced himself to lift the load. As soon as he moved his twin however, a loud moan of pain escaped from Elrohir's mouth, piercing the delicate silence that surrounded them. Elladan frantically dropped his brother and clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling the noise considerably, but it was too late. One of the men sleeping near Elrohir had awoken. Thinking it nothing at first however, the man glanced over at the sleeping prisoner, ready to tell the unconscious figure to shut up, but when he saw a lean figure in the darkness looming over the prisoner he immediately exclaimed in confusion, "What the...!" He sat up and gave another shout to rouse the camp.

Elladan was fumbling with his twin, desperately trying to lift his dead weight and get both of them out of there as quickly as possible. How in Valar's name had he let that happen? Why couldn't he have just taken the gag out when they were away from the camp? Why was he such a fool? 'Ah, 'Ro, why did you have to give us away!' he wondered, angrily. But he knew he couldn't blame his unconscious brother for this mess they were in.

It was too dark to tell exactly what was going on, or how many men there were, but amidst shouts and confusion, Elladan suddenly felt himself wrenched away from Elrohir. He struggled desperately to break free, but he knew there was no way out of this. There was no chance he could get himself out of there now, let alone with Elrohir. His arms were immediately pinned by one, two men? He had no idea. He felt another hand clamp over his throat sealing off his voice and his breath. He could make out a few shouts among the commotion--

"Someone light a torch!"

"We've got him!"

"What happened? What is it?"

Elladan was held fast by three men, but he was still struggling as a torch was at last lit and brought near. Someone slugged him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over as much as he his captors would allow. The man holding the torch brought it close to Elladan's face so the rest of them could get a good look at the intruder.

"Well, well, what have we got here?" It was Aamussen who spoke and held the torch. He took Elladan's chin, bringing his face up so they could all get a good look at it. Elladan was still struggling to regain his breath.

"It's an elf!" one of the men shouted.

"They've come after us!" another shouted in fear.

"No, no," said Aamussen, "He's alone. If he had brought an elven army, we'd all be dead by now." He paused, examining the elf's face intently for a moment. "He looks...he looks exactly like the other elf..." he said in confusion. The other men looked between the two elves in the torchlight, noting the same observation Aamussen had made. The elves were strikingly identical.

Elladan stood glaring at the men while they marveled in confusion. Only when he made another desperate attempt to break free did they bring their attention back to the situation. The three holding him tightened up on him once more, preventing any chance of escape.

"What's going on here?" a gruff voice asked. It was Barelus, the self-elected leader of the outlaws and he was pushing men aside, making his way to the center of the group to see what all the commotion was about.

"Another elf, sir" Aamussen answered. "We caught him trying to steal our prisoner."

Barelus turned a hard gaze on Elladan. "Is that so? Well, you're lucky he didn't succeed." he told his men threateningly. "He's alone, I take it?" he asked glancing around, noting the men's confirming nods. "Tie him up!" he barked, "And let's learn all we can from this fool of an elf, shall we?" he said giving Elladan a nasty smirk before turning away.

No sooner had the order been given than it was being carried out. Elladan suddenly found himself roughly thrown onto the ground. His arms were gripped tightly and held firmly behind his back as his wrists were securely lashed together. The ropes were tight and painful and Elladan couldn't stand being tied up. Even when he and Elrohir were little and would play 'warriors' with the other young elflings in Rivendell, being tied up always made him sick. But this wasn't a game, this was real, and it made it all the worse. They bound his ankles next, and no more gently than they had his arms.

When they were satisfied with their job and convinced Elladan couldn't escape they hauled him up on his knees and backed away. Elladan hadn't said a word throughout any of this, mainly because he didn't think trying to talk to the men would make any difference at this point. He was so angry with the turn of events this whole situation had taken and he was sure that anger was showing on his face. He wasn't trying to hide it, however. And why should he? He wasn't afraid of these men. He might be at their mercy for the moment, but that didn't faze him. He stole a glance at Elrohir who was lying motionless several feet away, still unconscious and oblivious to the misfortune he had inadvertently caused his twin.

"So, elf," a voice said roughly, bringing Elladan's attention to the figure in front of him. It was the leader. And he was holding a short club, menacingly tapping his other palm with it, and smirking at the elf as if he was going to enjoy what happened next.

Elladan caught sight of the club and looked away, rolling his eyes. 'This will be wonderful,' he thought to himself sarcastically. 'Nothing like being beaten while tied up to end a perfect evening.'

Barelus must have caught the eye-roll Elladan gave at the sight of the club because he immediately backhanded Elladan with it, snapping his face to the side. He smirked with satisfaction as he watched Elladan pause, stunned by the blow and trying to blink back the pain.

"Who are you?" Barelus asked. He paused for a split second and the let Elladan have another one, this time hitting the opposite side of his face.

Again Elladan was stunned by the pain. He felt his eyes water and tasted the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. 'He didn't even give me a chance to answer,' Elladan thought to himself angrily, 'Fine, he doesn't want to hear answers? I won't give him any then.'

"I asked who you are, elf!" Barelus said angrily, delivering yet another blow to the helpless Elladan.

Elladan couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped him this time. He noticed his surroundings sliding in and out of focus momentarily. 'Maybe not talking isn't such great idea, after all,' Elladan thought, 'Another blow like that and I'm going to be knocked out. And losing consciousness here would really not be the best thing that could happen right now.'

He must not have been the only one worried about him losing consciousness, however. A man stepped forward. The same man who had noticed he and Elrohir were twins earlier. "Barelus, you're going to knock him out if you hit him again," Aamussen warned. Barelus shot him a look but Aamussen continued with a rather unpleasant grin on his face, "Besides, I think I know of a much more persuasive way of extracting information from him."

Aamussen strode over to where the unconscious Elrohir lay. Kneeling down beside the elf, he grasped his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. Leaning the unconscious figure against him to keep him up, he reached into his boot and withdrew his hunting knife. For the first time that night, a glint of fear glimmered in Elladan's eyes.

"Don't!" Elladan exclaimed before Aamussen had even made a threat against Elrohir. The men all looked to the elf, surprised at just how effective Aamussen's method had been at humbling the proud elf. "Please," Elladan went on, "Don't hurt my brother any more than he already is."

"Your brother?" Barelus asked.

"Yes, my twin," Elladan replied, desperately, "He's dying. He won't last much longer if he isn't treated. Please, you must untie me and let me heal him," he realized he was pleading with the men, but he also he realized he didn't care. It was his brother's life on the line, not his pride, and that made all the difference. "You're trying to keep him alive aren't you? Let me help him then. If I've only ended up throwing my fate in with his, so be it, but at least give me the chance to save his life."

The men were taken back a bit by this sudden outburst from the elf. It took them all a moment to digest Elladan's words before anyone said anything. "Hmm, elven twins?" Barelus said, intrigued. "Who knew there was such a thing?" He thought things over for a minute while Elladan watched him precariously. "The price of two is always better than the price of one..." he mused, "Alright, listen, boy," he said a moment later, "You answer our questions, accept the fact that you're our prisoner and that your fate will be the same as your twin here, and don't make any foolish attempts at escape or anything of the sort, and I'll let you have a go at healing your half-dead brother."

Elladan agreed without hesitation. He was so eager to save Elrohir he didn't care what the terms were.

"Questions first," Barelus said roughly. "How did you find us and how did you know we had your brother?" Barelus had to know just how many elves knew where their missing prince was. Being taken by surprise in the middle of the night by one elf is one thing, but being taken by surprise by a whole army of elves could prove to be something quite different.

Elladan hesitated. He didn't know what to say, really. He knew he couldn't tell the men about Damus because that would get his human friend into a whole heap of trouble. But how else could he explain his being able to find Elrohir? Fortunately however, Barelus didn't notice Elladan's hesitation to answer. A loud commotion at the edge of the camp attracted everyone's attention at that moment.

Elladan turned to see what was going on. He had a horrible feeling that he knew what it was, however. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Damus being dragged into the camp by two men. 'Oh no,' Elladan thought, his stomach dropping. 'Always when I think things can't get worse, they do.'

Damus didn't make eye-contact with Elladan but he didn't have to. Elladan didn't have to see his eyes to make out the shame and disappointment Damus was feeling at having been caught. 'Damus shouldn't feel bad,' Elladan thought, 'This is all my fault. It's my fault that we both got caught, and it's my fault that Damus is even here at all." Elladan couldn't help feeling horribly guilty and sorry.

"What is going on?" Barelus growled, getting up and making his way over to the new commotion. "Is it another elf?"

"Look who it is, sir," one of the men said, holding Damus steady so everyone could get a good look at him.

Barelus stopped short. "It's the confounded boy," he said amazed.

Aamussen had made his way over by now with a menacing look on his face. "Didn't we agree the next time we met this fool we would kill him?" A few shouts of assent arose from the men at this.

"Wait men," Barelus said, raising a hand, "before we do any killing we've first got to figure out what's going on. What's the idiot boy doing here with an elf? And where's Traven?" All the men turned their attention to Damus at this, eager to hear some answers.

Damus had to quickly hide his surprise at hearing Traven was not there at the camp. He hadn't seen the man since the morning of the day before and he hadn't considered him being anywhere else than with these men. It was all very puzzling to him now. He thought back to the message of 'STAY HERE' Traven had left in the dirt. 'If Traven didn't go west with the men then where on earth could he have...' An idea suddenly struck Damus. At first it seemed too good to be true, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. 'Maybe,' Damus thought hopefully, 'just maybe Traven has proven himself to be the man I always thought he was...'

A swift smack to his face quickly brought Damus' attention back to the situation at hand. "Well?" Barelus barked, "He said he was taking you to Bree. Where is he? Why did you lead the elf here?"

Damus had to do some extremely quick thinking. If Traven was really doing what Damus hoped he was doing, then Damus had to provide him with some cover. "He's dead." he blurted out. Several men's eyebrows shot up at that. "We were," he fumbled for something plausible, "attacked," he said, trying not to sound suspiciously hesitant, "by the elf!" he finished. Elladan shot Damus a sharp look at that. "And then the elf made me lead him to his brother," Damus knew this fake story sounded horribly like he was trying to save his own skin and he wished he could apologize to Elladan, but it couldn't be helped at the moment.

"What were you doing hiding in the bushes then?" Aamussen asked, suspiciously.

"Well," Damus replied smoothly, "I'll admit I wasn't exactly keen on returning to a bunch of men that want me dead."

"And you shouldn't be," Barelus cut in. "But no matter. You'll be sold with the elves. There'd be no need to waste your life when we could otherwise make a small profit from it. Bind him and get him out of my sight."

The order was carried out and Elladan lost sight of Damus. Elladan couldn't help feeling a little shocked and wary about Damus' fabricated tale. Elladan could tell Damus had a reason for it, but now the men believed he had killed one of their own, and Elladan was sure that wouldn't improve matters one bit. As if right on cue Barelus approached Elladan once more.

"So, you think you can get away with killing one of my men, do you?" Barelus spat. He clubbed Elladan again, even harder than he had the first three times. Bound as he was, Elladan couldn't help being knocked painfully to the ground. It took a while for things to come back in focus this time, but Elladan managed to maintain silence and to keep from blacking out. "I should let your brother die," Barelus continued, "but lucky for you, he's no use to me dead. So fix him. And don't try anything clever or it's your brother that will get it," he warned. He then cut the ropes around Elladan's wrists only and then dragged him by his tunic over to where Elrohir lay.

"I need water and a fire," Elladan said, getting to his knees. His voice was hoarse from the pain the club had caused him. He saw Barelus nod to one of his men and knew the request would be carried out. Presently however, he could finally focus his attention on Elrohir.

Elrohir was lying still and quiet once more. So still in fact that it made Elladan want to look away. Seeing his brother lifeless like this made him slightly sick. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Elrohir. He very rarely let himself even consider the possibility of living life without Elrohir, but seeing Elrohir close to actually dying like this made the possibility seem far too real. Elladan felt his hands shaking a little as he reached for his twin. He pulled his brother's head and shoulders into his lap and looked down at his face, examining it closely. In the firelight Elladan could see how colorless and gray Elrohir's face looked. He placed his hand on his forehead and was startled to feel how cold it was. He should have felt feverish if his body was still trying to fight off the poison. "Don't tell me you're giving up, 'Ro," Elladan whispered anxiously. Worriedly, he pulled the blanket down to Elrohir's waist and looked for the main wound from the orc arrow. There it was on his left shoulder, so close to his heart it gave Elladan chills. The wound was clearly from a poisoned arrow. It was infected and not healing properly, and really quite grotesque to look at. Elladan could tell someone had already made an attempt at healing the wound, but the results of their efforts had been minimal. Elladan took a few more minutes to tally up all his brother's injuries before setting to work. He found Elrohir was covered with bruises--several of which were very nasty looking, his right ankle was broken, and at least two of his ribs were cracked if not also broken.

Elladan was silently grateful Elrohir was unconscious as he withdrew his small healing kit from his tunic and began working on his brother. This would be difficult enough with Elrohir being oblivious to the pain as he was. He withdrew the necessary herbs he needed, heated some water over the fire, and cut strips of cloth to serve as bandages. He worked as quickly as he could, mixing powerful concoctions as well as muttering ancient elvish phrases his father had taught him. He had never been more thankful than he was now for all the lessons in healing his father had taught Elrohir and him. He had never imagined they might actually end up in a situation like this when knowing what to do could make the difference between his brother's life or death. He worked tirelessly for over an hour, cleaning the wound out, and administering different medicines to the wound and forcing his brother to drink some as well. Finally it came time to bandage the wound up which Elladan did carefully and with great relief. He was sure his efforts on Elrohir would not come to waste. With the help of the elvish medicine he knew his brother would recover. It would just take more time and patience. The latter of which he didn't know if he had. He wished desperately Elrohir would wake up.

Elladan heaved a great sigh of relief as he sat back from his brother to examine him once more. His face still looked very colorless but Elladan knew he would be looking better in the morning. He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders as he was finally able to acknowledge that he had accomplished what he had set out to do. He had found his brother and he had healed him to the best of his abilities. He had saved his life. Another wave of relief washed over Elladan as he realized he would never have to consider that horrible thought of life without Elrohir. He closed his eyes and silently thanked the Valar for a moment. Only when he opened them again did he realize how heavy his eyelids had become. He was exhausted. And he realized he still had to set Elrohir's ankle and wrap his torso before he could go to sleep. Tiredly, he set about to accomplish these two things, his mind muddled from lack of sleep. He knew he should be trying to come up with a brilliant escape plan to get away from the men, but he wasn't ready yet to focus on their present predicament. All that mattered to him tonight was taking care of Elrohir.

Finally, when his Elrohir's ankle was set in a fairly decent makeshift splint, and his wounded ribs had been wrapped, Elladan allowed himself to collapse on the ground next to his brother. He threw a protective arm across his neck and allowed his heavy eyes to close. Despite the fact that they were both prisoners and faced the prospect of slavery, Elladan couldn't help feeling a surge of happiness as he lay there drifting quickly off to sleep. Elrohir was going to be okay. And they were together. That was all that really mattered.


A swift kick to the side abruptly snatched Elladan from his deep slumber. A moan of pain escaped his lips as he rolled away from his attacker. He was trying to bring himself to open his eyes, but his body was not willing yet.

"I said get up, elf!" a harsh voice commanded.

Elladan suddenly gained his awareness. His memory rushed over him and his eyes snapped open. He was a prisoner in a camp full of men. Somehow he had forgotten, being so lost in his exhaustion as he was. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and attempted to sit up. A sudden throb of pain shot through his skull and caused him to wince. His head certainly hadn't forgotten the beating it received last night. He paused and took a couple of breaths, trying to ignore the aching pain. After a moment he forced himself to sit up. His hands had been bound again without his noticing as he slept, which made the task of righting himself a bit more difficult than it should have been. He glanced over and saw his twin lying next to him, still as unconscious as ever, but otherwise looking a bit better than he had the previous night. A hint of color had returned to his face.

Elladan looked around. The day was just dawning and the men were busying about breaking camp. Elladan could tell he had only had a few hours' sleep. His body was stiff and his fatigue draped his senses like a blanket. How he wished he and Elrohir could be home in Imladris right now, safe and sound in bed. It was enough having to deal with the scare of almost losing Elrohir, but now to have to deal with these ruthless, idiotic men...Elladan shook his head. He knew griping about it would do nothing to help the situation. He sighed and continued to observe the men with heavy eyelids.

Several minutes later the men were ready to begin the day's march. Two men came for Elladan and Elrohir. One took the unconscious twin and flung him carelessly onto a horse. The other man cut the rope binding Elladan's ankles and yanked him roughly into a standing position. He then looped a length of rope through his belt. Grasping the other end tightly in his grip, he pulled Elladan forward, forcing him to follow.

Elladan couldn't contain the annoyance he felt from showing on his face as the man led him along in line with the others. Here he was being led like a leashed animal with a bunch of lowlife humans. It was humiliating. 'I am the son of an elven lord,' Elladan thought to himself, 'This fate is not suitable for me in the least. Nor for my brother. I'm going to get us out of this. As soon as the opportunity presents itself, we'll be done with this.'

The hours dragged on as the men marched the twins westward. Elladan felt fatigued the whole time and he had been given nothing to eat or drink the entire morning. He had caught sight of Damus ahead of him in line several times, bound as he was, but he had never had a chance to make eye contact with him. He mulled the thought of escape over and over in his mind, and while having no idea how he would carry it out, he knew he wouldn't hesitate to take whatever chance that might come to him. He was a little nervous about acting on a whim, but that was usually how Elladan handled everything in life, and things had never turned out too bad before. He felt rather confident he could get himself and Elrohir safely out of this. These men were idiots, after all. The thing he was worried about was Damus. He didn't think it very likely he could save his human friend as well, and the idea of leaving him with these horrible men made him feel terribly guilty.

Finally at around noon the men stopped by a small stream to take a breather. Elladan was at last offered some much-needed water and he drank it down greedily. He saw the men withdraw morsels of food from their packs and wasn't surprised when he wasn't offered anything.

Suddenly a small jolt of opportunity snapped Elladan's senses into sharp focus as he noticed the man holding his "leash" had let go of the rope to get some food out of his pack. He glanced toward his brother, still unconscious and still on horse, only a few yards away. No one was hardly paying attention to either of them. 'This is it...!' Elladan thought quickly, sitting up straight. 'This is the opportunity I've been waiting for,' Without waiting hardly a moment longer Elladan knew he had to act. Speed and surprise would be the key to getting away. Almost in the blink of an eye Elladan had his legs drawn through his arms, bringing his bound hands in front of him rather than behind. Another brief moment later he was to the horse that was packing his unconscious brother. Wasting no time, he flung himself onto the horse's back and spurred him forward as hard as he could. The one thing Elladan hadn't counted on however, was that the horse would be just as surprised by this hasty escape attempt as the men would. The startled horse drew back on its hind legs, throwing both Elladan and his unconscious brother to the ground.

Elladan lay in a heap on the ground, his sleeping twin crushing the air out of him. 'That didn't exactly go as planned,' Elladan thought, tasting the bitter taste of disappointment and dread. He knew the men weren't going to just let this slide by. He pushed Elrohir off of him and sat up, watching the furious men encircle him and his brother.

"So, thought you could give us the slip, did you?" Barelus was looming over Elladan, and the look on his face actually managed to scare Elladan a bit. A swift blow caught Elladan across the cheek and knocked him down. Again, he just barely managed to keep from blacking out, but he couldn't keep stinging tears from suddenly welling up.

"I let you heal your brother," Barelus spat, "And in return you agreed not to attempt anything foolish like this!"

"The elf needs to be taught a lesson," Aamussen said stepping forward, his usual malicious grin plastered on his face. "I say we show him what happens when prisoners go against their word."

Barelus was nodding his approval and Elladan felt a prickle of fear dance across the back of his neck. 'Why can't I just do something right for once?' he thought to himself, frustrated, 'I've only managed to make things worse. Again.' He was really getting fed up with the beatings he had received and he certainly wasn't looking forward to another one. The small prickle of fear suddenly increased ten-fold however, when he saw Aamussen reaching for Elrohir. They were going to take his escape attempt out on his twin! The protective brother in him instinctively moved to block Elrohir but he suddenly found himself held fast by two men.

"What are you doing?" Elladan exclaimed, trying desperately to keep the fear out of his voice. He didn't want those men to so much as touch his brother.

Aamussen chuckled. "Barelus told you it would be your brother that would pay for your disobedience. Remember?" he paused, "Are you scared, elf? Scared for your brother?" he watched Elladan closely as he withdrew the same hunting knife he had threatened Elrohir with the previous evening.

"Don't touch him," Elladan threatened, his voice low and dangerous. He made a desperate attempt to break free from his captors but they were strong and held him fast. They all seemed to find Elladan's desperation and helplessness amusing. It infuriated him.

Aamussen pulled the unconscious Elrohir up into a sitting position. He fingered the knife thoughtfully for a moment. "First of all, let's see how asleep this elf really is, should we?" he said. He placed the tip of the knife against Elrohir's upper arm, keeping eye contact with Elladan the whole time. Elladan was glaring daggers at the man. He wanted to kill him. He struggled again with all his strength to free himself from the iron grips holding him, but to no avail. He could tell how amusing Aamussen found this and it made him hate him even more.

"Don't," Elladan begged, but Aamussen just continued to smirk and plunged the knife into Elrohir's arm. Elrohir did not so much as move. The same could not be said for Elladan, however. He desperately tried to lunge at Aamussen. No one was allowed to harm his brother, and especially not as some form of torture to him! Why didn't they just knock him around a bit more? Why did they find it so amusing to hurt his completely helpless brother while he could do nothing but watch? It made him furious.

"Well," Aamussen said, noting the results, "looks like he won't feel any of this. Too bad, isn't it?" He smirked again at the scowling Elladan and then continued, "You know, elf, I realized it must be rather difficult at times having an identical brother. No one can tell you apart, everyone compares you to each other...So, I think I'll do you a favor. What do you say we make you two stop being identical?" Aamussen brought the knife up towards Elrohir's face.

Elladan didn't like where this was going at all. How could he possibly stand by and be forced to watch his twin get maimed? It made him sick. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. He hated these men and he wished he could kill every one of them on the spot.

As if in answer to that wish, the sudden hiss of an arrow split through the air. Elladan didn't notice, lost in his desperate attempt to save his twin from permanent physical damage as he was. Only when one of the men who was holding him fell dead to the ground did he notice the arrow. It was an elvish arrow.

Confusion suddenly erupted in the group. Shouts went up, more hissing and twangs of bows and arrows sounded, and several more bodies fell to the ground. Elladan didn't know what was going on, but through the confusion he only knew he had to get to Elrohir. He had to get him away from that fiend and his knife.

There was still one man clinging to Elladan, looking around frantically, wondering what was going on. Everything seemed to slow down a bit to Elladan as he locked eyes once more with Aamussen. Aamussen seemed to understand perfectly what was happening. He saw the elvish arrows. He saw the fallen men too, and he knew what it all meant. Their little escapade with the elven princes was coming to an end. Aamussen glared furiously at Elladan. Mustering all the spite he could into his glare, he smirked one last time and raised the knife above the unconscious Elrohir. Elladan saw what was about to happen and knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was too far away. He jerked himself free from the man holding him and lurched for Elrohir just as Aamussen was bringing the knife down. At the same split second the knife made contact with Elrohir's back, an arrow made contact with Aamussen's eye. He fell back, dead before he hit the ground.

"Elrohir!" Elladan exclaimed, reaching for his twin. Wide-eyed, he frantically gathered his brother in his arms. The knife was protruding grotesquely from Elrohir's back. The sight of it made Elladan reel, and he had to struggle to maintain his senses. "Elrohir..." he whispered. Not knowing what else to do he shakily grasped the knife's handle and immediately felt the sticky warmth of his brother's blood flow over his hand. He swallowed hard. Numbly, he began to pull on the knife until he felt it start to glide slowly from his brother's body. The feel of it made the earth around him sway and he had to shut his eyes for a moment to compose himself. After what seemed like much longer than it actually took, the knife was free. Elladan stared at the blood-soaked blade for a moment, sickened, before flinging it away from him. He then pulled Elrohir close to him and though he wasn't really aware of it, he started to sob.

Elladan wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually he realized that everything was now silent. There was no more shouting, no more sounds of bow twangs, just silence. Elladan didn't care what was happening though. For all he knew, his brother was dying. He was in shock, and his emotions were running free which he wasn't used to, and he was so lost at the moment. He felt so helpless, not knowing what to do as his brother lay there bleeding in his arms. Elrohir. His twin brother. His best friend. All that could be slipping away from him at that very moment and there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to cry, and it was only then that he realized he already was.

Suddenly he felt hands on his shoulders. But these were different hands from the ones the men had laid on him. These hands were comforting. They drew him up so he sat up straight, and he suddenly felt Elrohir being lifted away from him. He grasped for him desperately, but the comforting hands held him back. He felt himself being pulled to his feet and he turned to see who it was guiding his movements. Never before had Elladan been so happy to see this face.

"Glorfindel...!" he breathed. He was so surprised to see him, yet so very glad. He suddenly understood what all the commotion was about. The search party had found them. At last. It was almost too good to be true. Elladan's bonds were immediately cut and he would have thrown his arms around Glorfindel in a grateful hug if he had not been so preoccupied with thoughts of his twin at the moment. Elrohir had been stabbed. Elrohir was bleeding. Elrohir might be dying right now!

Elladan rushed over to the elves that were immediately tending to Elrohir, and he noticed Glorfindel follow. He now also had time to notice all the arrow-pierced bodies that scattered the ground. All the men had been killed. Elladan suddenly gasped at that thought and frantically looked around. 'They wouldn't have killed Damus! He was hardly older than a boy and a prisoner like myself...' Elladan let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Damus several yards away, still bound and being watched by two elves, but very much alive. He was the only man that had been spared. Except for one more...Elladan suddenly noticed an older man conversing with Damus and the two elves. Elladan had never seen him before. Confused, he tore his gaze away and brought it back to the elves treating Elrohir.

Elladan knelt down beside them. "He'll be alright, won't he?" he asked anxiously, willing them to answer in the affirmative.

Glorfindel glanced at him. "We're going to rush him home as quickly as possible. But yes, once he reaches your father, he will recover."

"So, the stab wound--it's not...not...fatal, then?" Elladan asked, hardly able to get the words out.

A look of pity crossed Glorfindel's face. It was clear to him how shaken up Elladan was. And, well, there was no reason for him not to be, he realized. He had just witnessed his twin get stabbed. He put a comforting hand on the young elf's shoulder. "Your brother will be alright. The knife did not go in very deep and did not puncture anything vital. Put your worries at rest, Elladan."

Elladan let out a great sigh of relief. All that had plagued his mind for the last several days was Elrohir's well-being. He had been so worried--so scared of losing his twin. It was so relieving to finally have his fears put to rest. It felt as if a great burden had been lifted from him. He finally turned and buried his head in Glorfindel's chest. Glorfindel put his arm around the young elf and patted his back a couple times. Breaking away after a moment Elladan asked, "How did you find us?"

"Ah, it's rather surprising what happened, actually," Glorfindel replied. Before he could continue however, his attention suddenly shifted from Elladan to several approaching figures. Elladan turned to look.

Damus was coming towards them, along with the older man Elladan knew nothing about, and a couple elves. Elladan noticed Damus' hands had been freed and he was grinning happily as he approached Elladan. Elladan quickly wiped his face and returned the grin, eager to hear the full story.

"Elladan!" Damus said, patting him on the back. "Everything's alright?" he asked, giving the unconscious Elrohir a concerned look.

"Yes, Elrohir will be okay," Elladan replied, the relief in his voice evident.

Damus lightly tapped Elladan's face with a play punch. "I see you got banged up pretty bad. Most of which is my fault. I've been wanting to apologize for telling the men that story about you killing Traven here," he gestured at the older man standing next to him. The man raised the corners of his mouth at Elladan. It looked friendly, but it wasn't exactly a smile. He seemed shy and out of place. Elladan nodded a greeting and brought his attention back to Damus who was going on, "I know it sounded like I was trying to save my own neck, but I was really trying to give Traven some cover. You see, I hadn't realized until then that Traven had gone after the search party! When I saw he wasn't camped with the men I knew that was the only other place he would have gone. He found the elves and led them to us." He gave Traven a proud smile. "You saved both our necks you know, old man?"

Traven gave a genuine smile at that. "Well, you must have rubbed off on me, kid."

Elladan smiled. He knew what Traven meant. Damus was the type of person that made those around him want to be better. "I don't know how to thank both of you. This whole ordeal has just been..." he sought for a fitting word,"It's just been a nightmare. Anyways, thanks to you both, I've found Elrohir and we can finally go home. You two must be rewarded!" he suddenly realized, "Why don't you travel back to Rivendell with us and my father can repay you for your deeds?"

Damus and Traven glanced at each other. Elladan could tell the idea of going to Rivendell did not seem very thrilling to Traven. It was obvious he felt awkward around all the elves. "We were actually planning on heading to Bree," Damus said, looking back to Elladan.

"Alright then," Elladan replied, "We'll have your reward sent to you there then."

Damus smiled. "Really, Elladan, It doesn't matter. I didn't help you in hopes of being repaid."

"I know," Elladan replied, "That's why you deserve it all the more." He shook Damus' hand one last time and assured him he would always be a welcomed friend were he ever to visit Rivendell. They parted with kind words and Elladan was surprised at how sad it made him feel to watch the human head off westward. In the short time Elladan had known Damus he had come to regard him as a companion and friend. Perhaps it was the fact that they went through a crisis together that forged such a quick bond between them. Whatever the reason, Elladan liked Damus and he now doubted that he would ever see him again. He did not doubt however, that he would never forget him.

Elladan turned back to Glorfindel and the others. He saw they were done patching Elrohir up and were quickly preparing to get him back to Rivendell. He was seated in front of another elf on a horse and Elladan quickly got the idea it was just that rider and another that would be leaving for Rivendell within a few minutes.

"Wait a minute!" Elladan called, catching their attention. "I'm going too!"

"No, Elladan," Glorfindel interjected, "It's just these two that will be taking Elrohir home as quickly as possible. You're in no condition to ride hard right now, and they can't afford to be slowed down. We'll be traveling back to Rivendell at a normal pace."

Elladan was beside himself. He had just spent the last few days looking for his twin and he wasn't about to let Elrohir out of his sight again for at least the next decade!

It was as if Glorfindel could read his thoughts because he quickly took on a stern tone and spoke before Elladan could say anything, "Elladan," he said firmly, "be reasonable, please." he paused, "It only makes sense for you to travel back to Rivendell with the rest of the group. And don't think you're off the hook for running away from your last escort. If you make this a routine I can only imagine your father will have a thing or two to say about it." Glorfindel raised his eyebrows, a half smile on his face.

Elladan had forgotten he was still in trouble for that. "Alright, alright," he said, hoping to redeem himself a bit. "Just," he said turning to the elves that would be taking Elrohir home, "Just be careful."

The elf holding Elrohir in front of him chuckled. "We will, Lord Elladan. Do not worry about your brother. You'll see him in a couple days' time. Perhaps he'll even be awake by then."

Elladan watched as the two riders took off with his twin brother in tow. He was still upset about once again being separated from Elrohir, but at least he didn't feel any anxiety or worry anymore. He was sure everything was going to be fine now. He couldn't wait until Elrohir would finally wake up. Boy, did he have a lot to tell him. And a lot to yell at him about too! First for not being honest about his dream, second for drugging him (which Elladan was still fuming about, now that he thought about it), and thirdly for giving them both away by waking up the whole camp of men. That little orc was going to catch it. Elladan almost let out a laugh at that moment. Hardly an hour ago he was fretting for Elrohir's life and now here he was already anticipating giving his brother a hard time. Yes, things were going to be back to normal quickly. Elladan smiled and turned back towards the group, eager to start the journey back home.

TBC


A/N: Well, it's almost over! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I probably should have broken it into two, but both halves wouldn't quite have been long enough for two separate chapters. Anyways, I hope the resolution didn't seem too rushed. There's only one more chapter to go now and I'll try to have that posted in about a week. And if you'll leave a review I would just love you! Thanks for reading. :-)

Review responses:

Coolio02- Thanks for sticking with the story! You were my very first reviewer, did you know? I love hearing from you.

Elven hope- Your review really cracked me up! Thanks for taking the time to keep reading. I hope you still got your writing done and your bedroom tidied and all that. :)

random person- Thanks for your nice comments!

BlueEyedElf- Phew, I'm glad I didn't lose your interest! Your reviews are so nice.

pipinheart- Thanks for dropping me a note! And thanks for complimenting the story. That's really nice of you.

Viresse- Thanks for your insight. And you're right, I'm not planning on any big twists at this point. Thanks for reviewing. :)

WarriorElf- Hey! It was good to hear from you again! Thanks for conitinuing to read and thanks also for the lovely compliments. Believable characters are a must for me to enjoy any story, and I'm really glad to hear you found the twins believable in this story. Thanks!