Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.

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Sold Into Ruin

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A/N: Over 200 reviews!!!! Amazing. Thank you so much everyone who's left a review. Enjoy the next chapter.

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Chapter 38 ~ Spreading the Blame

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Although dreams still haunted him, Legolas slept far more soundly than he had the night before. He felt Aragorn close to him, which allowed him to relax slightly, even though the man was clearly fast asleep as well. He felt safe in his friend's arms; as much as he hated to admit it he needed that close contact. The ghostly image of his mother was still at the forefront of his mind but by now he had convinced himself that she wasn't real - just like Torvan hadn't been real. He had been a spectre of some kind and that was just what his mother was: a figment of his imagination.

He tried not to dwell on it too much, knowing it would only bring back those horrific memories again. He had already given too much away to Kallon due to his unusually fragile mind; he couldn't afford to break again. For Aragorn's sake as much as his own he couldn't afford to break.

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Mirkwood…

Thranduil dejectedly walked out of yet another cave. He didn't know why they were even bothering to search them. Legolas would have no need to hide inside Mirkwood. If he was in the Great Forest he would have already found a way to return to the palace. He knew the forest too well to get lost and Thranduil doubted very much he would have voluntarily veered off the established roads through the forest, knowing the dangers all around him, especially as he had Estel with him.

As much as he wanted to believe that his son was fine and out playing games with the man he called his friend, Thranduil simply couldn't. The image of his son's tortured face continued to race ceaselessly through his mind, each time filling him with a new determination to bring his child home safely.

That Elrond was also worried about Estel and Legolas made the king even more certain that something was seriously wrong. The Lord of Imladris had sent a letter by bird a while ago asking if the two travellers had arrived safely in Mirkwood. Correspondence between Mirkwood and Rivendell had been somewhat limited of late what with the tensions between the two kingdoms but now Thranduil wanted to be in constant contact with the Half-Elf that he usually did his very best to avoid.

Some time ago Thranduil had convinced himself that all of this was entirely Estel's fault. Whether this was true or not was irrelevant but he needed to blame someone. The man was just the most obvious and convenient choice.

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Rivendell…

Elrond had already prepared his horse, left instructions with his advisors Glorfindel and Erestor and was all ready to leave. When he had been told the day before that Thranduil was also worried about the safety of his son he had decided to go in search of them himself. The King of Mirkwood was searching around his own forest so Elrond would take the same route Legolas and Aragorn had presumably taken from Rivendell in the hope of tracking them down. It was a long shot. The two adventurers were known for changing their plans suddenly and had left so long ago that there would be very few signs of them left on the road but Elrond was trying to remain positive.

Elladan and Elrohir had also insisted on coming along, convincing their father that the more people out looking the better and of course the Lord of Imladris could not travel alone. Besides, the twins often travelled these roads and knew it better than most. They had ventured out with Legolas and Estel on occasion and probably knew what roads the pair would take better than Elrond. The Lords of Imladris were also bringing along three of Rivendell's best guards. If his son was in trouble Elrond was going to do everything in his power to get him out of it.

There was one major drawback to this plan: it would mean they would eventually have to go to Mirkwood. Although the animosity between the two kingdoms had dulled significantly over the years the Peredhel family were hardly welcome in the Woodland Realm under normal circumstances. This time though Thranduil had been remarkably forthcoming in his invitation to help in the search, although he had sounded far more concerned about Legolas than Aragorn and Elrond got the distinct impression that he already blamed the Man for whatever was happening to his own son. However, Thranduil didn't really have a problem with Elrond personally; he did after all trust him with his son's life. Relations between the kingdoms remained strained though. Still, if there was ever a time they had to come together it was now.

"Are we ready?" Elrond asked. Elladan and Elrohir vaulted easily onto their horses as only Elves could and nodded to their father.

"Ready, my Lord," the lead guard said.

"Let's go." With that they clattered out of the courtyard.

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Kallon walked into the cell again, although this time he was completely calm, no shouting or screaming. They had been waiting for this moment ever since Legolas had been returned so they weren't at all surprised. They didn't move from their spots on the floor; their wounds were still too painful for that. Kallon simply smiled and closed the door quietly behind him.

"I must admit that so far I am very impressed," he said, standing watching as Legolas and Aragorn glared up at him. "You have certainly lasted far longer than most." Still they didn't move, thinking this was yet another trick. "Oh, don't worry, you're not going back to the Torture Room today. I don't know about you but I could do with a break. That last session was just exhausting," he laughed, his eyes fixed on Legolas.

"What do you want then?" Aragorn asked, making no protest as Legolas moved away from him and leaned back against the wall so as not to appear quite so vulnerable.

Kallon laughed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He smiled down at them. "In fact, I'm sending you back to your building."

"What?" Legolas said, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Yes. You have nothing more to give me. You can both go back to your building. You will be allowed a few days to recover from your injuries before you go back down the mines." Legolas and Aragorn looked at each other; they were both waiting for the inevitable catch.

"Why?" Aragorn asked.

"Because you are no good to me as you are. I have absolutely no more use for you as anything but slaves. Now, get up." Legolas and Aragorn looked at each other again, not knowing what to expected next. It wasn't like Kallon to give something for nothing. "You don't trust me. I can't really blame you; sometimes I don't trust me either. I can assure you though you have nothing to worry about. I have all the information I need about you so you can just relax and go back to the building and use that magical healing ability you both seem to possess to recover. Now get up and go before I change my mind." Now, that sounded more like Kallon.

Legolas slowly pulled himself up off the ground, not wincing once, knowing that the man was watching his every move. Aragorn, not having Legolas' ability to keep a straight face, had a little more trouble and Legolas helped him to his feet watching the man as closely as Kallon was.

Instead of grabbing them or knocking them back down, Kallon merely went to the door and tapped on it. The door swung open and Kallon walked out, standing aside and allowing them to leave. Still going cautiously, the two friends walked out, limping slightly from their injuries.

"Take them back to House Six," Kallon instructed the giant guard waiting outside for them. "Do not harm them anymore. They're already too…" He stopped himself before he could say anything more. Legolas knew in that instant that there was something very wrong with this. He had only been there a few weeks but he already knew Kallon well enough. Nothing happened without a reason in this place and that usually meant Kallon was planning something.

However, nothing happened during the slow but short walk back to their building. The giant guard escorting them was completely silent, not making any threatening moves towards them and letting them set the pace. Legolas didn't take his eyes of him though.

The gates opened and Legolas and Aragorn walked in, knowing that any attempt to disobey might change Kallon's generous mood for the worse.

They limped back to the building, ignoring the people who had begun to gather around them, shocked to see someone returning from the Hold alive. Legolas was holding onto Aragorn's arm to support the clearly unsteady man. Although Legolas had suffered greatly in the Hold, Aragorn seemed in far worse shape.

When they reached the building and walked inside there was complete silence. Everyone seemed to have stopped, all shocked to see them. Jadan pushed his way to the front of the crowd, both angry and surprised to see them. If their situation hadn't been so bad, Legolas could have laughed at the stunned look on his face.

"What are you doing back here? Kallon…"

"Kallon let us go," Legolas snarled, hating the man just as much now as he did before.

"You…"

"Just don't," Aragorn warned, going to walk away.

Jadan took another step forward. Before it could escalate though Jasmine stepped forward, cutting in between them to prevent a fight. "Jadan, don't," she warned. Turning to Legolas and Aragorn she smiled gently, took Aragorn's hand and led them towards their bench. "Are you alright?" she asked. The crowd were still staring at them. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, sitting Aragorn down on the bench. Everyone turned away and began chatting about Legolas' and Aragorn's miraculous return.

Aragorn smiled up at Legolas and Jasmine and then looked back down at the floor.

"Let me have a look at you," Legolas said, kneeling down, successfully keeping a wince from crossing his face.

"I think you're the one who needs help, mellon nin," Aragorn said, smiling at his friend.

"You do look in worse shape, Estel," Jasmine reasoned gently. This, of course, was a complete lie. It looked as if Legolas himself was about to topple over at any minute but Aragorn did look very slightly worse for wear and was less able to bear the pain.

"You cannot possibly argue with that," Legolas laughed.

He gently removed the strips of fabric Torvan had used to bandage Aragorn's wounds and they seemed to have worked well enough because none of the wounds were bleeding, for which Legolas was very grateful. Thankfully, there was no obvious sign of infection either, which would have been disastrous as Legolas had no healing herbs to hand if Aragorn were to get sick. He carefully washed the wounds off with the ration of water they found; apparently Kallon had left it for them - this surprised Legolas but he didn't complain.

Aragorn lay completely still and watched while Legolas worked. The Elf was making a valiant effort to keep his hands steady under Aragorn's scrutiny. Jasmine was holding onto the man's hand and Aragorn squeezed it gently. Legolas glanced into Aragorn's grey eyes and he thought he saw something rather strange there when the man looked at Jasmine – a kind of coy affection for her. Ignoring it for the time being, Legolas continued to redress Aragorn's wounds.

When he was done he pulled the blanket further over Aragorn and told him to rest. The man looked as though he was about to protest but then thought better of it and turned over to sleep, knowing this rest would not last long.

Legolas knelt for a moment, watching his companion. Aragorn quickly drifted off to sleep just as Legolas thought he would. Although he tried to deny it, the man was obviously exhausted. Legolas knew he had been alert all night looking after him. Legolas felt that same tiredness himself. All the memories of his past and his mother had caught up with him that night and now he couldn't shift the image of her broken body from his mind.

In some ways, Legolas felt like the frightened Elfling he had been when he ran through the palace of Mirkwood, desperately searching for his father to inform him of his mother's capture. Only this time there was no King Thranduil there to hold him tightly, to reassure and protect him. Now he had the added responsibility of Aragorn and Jasmine. Still, as much as he tried to push his mother's face from his mind he couldn't. He had spent so many years trying to forget that day and up until now he had done reasonably well.

However, such a thing was easy in Mirkwood. People there respected him, they obeyed his orders as Crown Prince and Thranduil would do or say nothing to upset his only son. Here though he had no control over people and Kallon knew that. It wasn't so easy to erase her from his mind when the man had so blatantly thrust her forth again. Even though he knew the image hadn't been real he couldn't help that surge of joy at her initial appearance. He had been ready to accept her even though her life was an impossibility. Even now he had to remind himself that she was just an illusion.

This, of course, had all been part of Kallon's plan. He knew exactly what effect such an image would have on the Prince of Mirkwood who had suffered so terribly at the death of the person more precious to him than anyone else in the world.

Kallon also knew that it would bring up vivid memories of the physical pain Legolas had suffered during his younger years. It was often forgotten that Legolas himself had been tortured by the Orcs. His wounds had not been directly life-threatening. In fact, he had gotten off remarkably lightly considering what they had done to the Queen. Still, for an Elfling it was such a devastating thing, made all the worse by his mother's suffering.

Jasmine's gentle hand on his shoulder pulled him from his dark thoughts and he found that he had been sat there thinking for some time as people were slowly coming back into the building to sleep.

"Will you let me look at your wounds now?" she asked carefully as though he might shatter if she spoke too loudly.

Legolas smiled, more to reassure her than because he felt like it. "Yes," he said simply, not trusting himself to say anything else. "Yes, thank you."

To Be Continued…

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