Again I want to thank those who have given me reviews. Nimwen, Elise, Dimitri, Lena, Minka, YunaDax, bryn and sabercrazy. Some of you have been kind enoubh to comment on just about every chapter, too. It is appreciated.
Disclaimers from Chapter One still stand. Now let's see what's happening to our heroes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 10
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Legolas awoke to the feel of someone's cold rough hands between his bare skin and the waistband of his trews.* It catapulted him into full consciousness. His jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed in anger. "Get your filthy hands off me!" he growled.
"He's awake," Lucky said. He had one knee on the bed beside Legolas as he fumbled underneath the prone Elf, fighting with the unfamiliar garment.
"Maybe he can tell you how to unlatch those fancy Elven clothes of his," another of the men jested.
Frustrated and in pain, Legolas began to curse fluently in Sindarin. The humans wouldn't understand the words, but they would get his intended contempt.
"We just want to see all of you," Lucky told Legolas, "and maybe play a little bit." He moved his hands to the belt outside Legolas' suede tunic and began to undo it. Legolas squirmed beneath him, helpless in his fetters.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The wind came gusts, but the snow continued to fall thickly outdoors.
Aragorn had hidden his horse on the far side of the barn. It had been the best he could do under the circumstances to secure a getaway. He then had made his way toward the farmer's house, which he had circled three times in an attempt to determine where they held Legolas.
Light came through the cracks of the wooden shutters upstairs in the front room, downstairs in the front room and in what Aragorn had determined was the kitchen. It appeared to him that the kitchen and front room shared a fireplace between them, since there was only one chimney on the roof. Chances were the upper rooms had no hearths.
His best chance to infiltrate the home was through the kitchen, Aragorn decided. He felt bitterly cold as he stopped to study the back door. His footsteps made no noise as he moved cautiously to the kitchen's door. It wouldn't be noise that gave him away to any occupants, he knew, it would be the cold wind seeping inside when he opened the door. Keeping this in mind, he stood with his body against the door, took hold of the latch, and opened it only a fraction.
The smell of tea and cooking meat reached his nostrils. He could hear a child crying and also a strange, repetitive pounding sound. His view captured only a sliver of the room, he could not see the child or what made the pounding sound. Aragorn's heart beat loudly in his ears as he pushed the door open just a little more.
Now he could see inside. A woman pounded doe on a table and two small children clung to her skirts. He could only see her in profile, but it was evident from the tears on her face that she cried softly as she worked.
The cold must have caught her attention, because she turned, eyes wide with fear, toward the door. Aragorn's gaze met hers, and he held his finger to his lips.
She wiped her hands on her apron and approached him, her face a mixture of fear and hope.
"Get the children and come with me," Aragorn whispered. "Do you have a cloak?"
She had a shawl wrapped across her chest and tied in back, but it would not do much against the freezing temperatures outside. "No." She picked up one child and grabbed the older one, who couldn't be more than six, by the hand. The woman went outside and stood as Aragorn closed the door softly behind them.
"Anyone else besides the bandits in the house?" he asked her.
"No. Those murderers killed my husband." She shivered.
Putting his left arm around her shoulders, Aragorn steered the woman and children toward his mount, talking more loudly as they got away from the house. "I'll get you to my horse. It's already saddled. Ride into town. Mr. Skipkey will take care of you."
They rounded the far side of the barn, and Aragorn sheathed his sword and shrugged out of his cloak. He put it around her shoulders and then helped her mount his steed. Handing the children up to her he asked, "Have you seen aught of my friend the Elf?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. If he was the blonde man they had, they took him upstairs. I know not what they've done with him." She paused. "They were brutal to me, if you get my meaning, sir. They are evil. They tortured my husband before they killed him. Made him watch what they did to me."
Aragorn felt his jaw clench at her words. "Go." He took the bridle and turned the horse to face the direction of the town. She put her heels to the horse and rode off.
Redrawing his sword, Aragorn looked around the corner of the barn just in time to the kitchen door standing open. He must not have latched it securely and the wind had blown it back open. Even as Aragorn looked, a man with a sword appeared in the doorway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The fire burned brightly, warming the front parlor, but RaChay added another piece of wood anyway. He listened to the sound of the fire as it crackled, then noticed how quiet it was. Jal and Sidig stood by the kitchen door arguing in low tones about the woman. RaChay's gaze moved down to Panks, who had seated himself on a small stool by the hearth.
"Where is everyone?" RaChay asked. Panks shrugged.
His eyes narrowing in suspicion, RaChay moved toward the stairs. Someone was talking up there and by the tone of it, he wasn't too happy. Taking the steps two at a time, RaChay burst into the room. Lucky knelt over their hostage while Jursel and Spithwon looked on, smiles on their faces. RaChay realized now that it was the Elf he had heard. The creature was talking in some foreign tongue and it sounded as if he was cursing them.
"What are you doing to my Elf?" RaChay demanded. "I told you all not to hurt him."
"We weren't hurting him," Lucky told him. "We just wanted to see more of him. He glows."
RaChay grabbed Lucky's shoulder and yanked him away from the cot where the Elf lay. "If he bleeds, I'm going to take it out of your hide. Can you even imagine what he's worth in Tirillon?"
Legolas had been calling the oaf who harassed him every foul name he could think of, but when RaChay said "Tirillon," the Elf froze. Did these common bandits know about Tirillon? He exhaled, not evening realizing he'd been holding his breath.
RaChay continued to verbally assault the three men as he ushered them out of the room. He paused for a moment once they were gone, looking down at his captive. Besides having his clothes rumpled, the Elf didn't appear to have been harmed.
"You just stay and rest," RaChay ordered. "We'll be riding out soon." Legolas felt the man touch his hair before saying, " A real Elf is worth a lot to me. I won't let them do any permanent harm to you." He bent closer and Legolas could feel the Man's breath next to his ear. "But I will whip you myself if you even try to escape. Got that?"
In answer, Legolas gave the man silence. He would escape. It was just a matter of time and healing. There was no question in the Elf's mind that he would not be humiliated by the likes of these. They acted more like orcs than men. He ground his teeth in frustration.
Laughing, RaChay put a few more pieces of wood on the brazier and left the room, firmly shutting the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Agreed then?" Sidig asked.
"Agreed," Jal grinned. He opened the door to the kitchen, having made a deal with Sidig that he would get the woman first this time. The kitchen was empty. No woman. No brats.
"Hey, she's gone," he told Sidig.
"What?"
Both men moved into the kitchen. "She can't get far," Sidig told Jal. "Let's go find her an teach her why she shouldn't run away."
"Right."
The two men went out the door and looked down at the footprints in the snow. "Someone else was here," Jal said. "Come on, they've gone to the barn."
Aragorn pulled back behind the shelter of the barn. He looked after the woman. She was not able to ride too fast with the snow and two children. He had to give them time to get away. Sword in hand, he straightened his shoulders and went to meet the two marauders.
"Look," Jal growled, seeing a man in dark colors come around the side of the barn. "That's not one of our lot."
"No," Sidig agreed. "Let's get him!"
They approached Aragorn cautiously, swords drawn, one going to his left, one to his right.
In the front room, Panks looked up. Lucky, Jursel and Spithwon were tramping down the stairs. He wondered what they had been doing up there. A moment later he felt cold air on his back, and turned to see the door to the kitchen open.
"Hey, what's going on?" Panks asked, standing and facing the open doorway.
Jursel moved forward and looked in. The kitchen was empty, it's door to the outside wide open. "Where's the woman?" he asked no one in particular.
"Come on, she's trying to get away!" Lucky drew his sword and brushed past Jursel. A moment later, Spithwon and Jursel had followed Lucky out into the snow. They could see Jal and Sidig fighting with someone.
"Five to one, those are odds I like," Lucky said, running to join in the battle.
RaChay came downstairs to find everyone rushing into the kitchen. Panks stood, buckling his sword around his waist.
"What's happening?" RaChay asked.
"Sounds like the woman tried to run away." Panks shrugged. He was older than the others and moved a little more slowly.
Cussing, RaChay stalked toward the kitchen calling back, "You guard the Elf. This may be a trick his friends are playing to get us all out of the house."
Nodding, Panks moved to the foot of the stairs and began to climb.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The three Elves drew their horses to a halt as they saw someone approaching through the flurry of snow.
"It's a woman with children," Elrohir said in amazement. He rode forward towards her and the other two Elves urged their own mounts after him.
"Please," the woman called to them. "Help me get to the village. There are cutthroats in my home. They've taken over and killed my husband."
"Have you seen our friend?" Elrohir asked, taking his cloak off and throwing it over the woman's. He noted that her cloak looked amazingly like Estel's.
"There is a blond man inside…upstairs. The man who gave me this cloak stayed behind," she told Elrohir. "I must get the children to shelter."
Elrohir exchanged glances with his brother. "I'll take them to the Inn, you two go after Estel and Legolas."
Vanasulë and Elladan nodded, then turned their horses toward the farmhouse, which was now just visible to their Elven eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The door to Legolas' room opened again and something heavy was dragged inside. Spitting his hair out of his face, Legolas looked over to see Aragorn half-dragged, half-walk in. RaChay and Lucky pushed Aragorn down into a sitting position at the foot of the bed. He had a bleeding gash across the side of his head and an already swelling shut right eye. His eyes were half-lidded, as if he were only partially conscious.
RaChay and Lucky, both wearing identical angry glares as they worked, tied Aragorn's hands behind his back and then secured them to the foot and frame of Legolas' bed.
"Now we have two hostages," RaChay said straightening.
"Yeah, but Jal and Sidig are dead." Lucky kicked Aragorn in the side saying, "That'll teach you to mess with us."
With a soft groan, Aragorn fell over on his side and brought his knees up.
RaChay looked at the Elf and met the creatures' hateful blue stare. "See, I told you. You're mine, and so's your human friend now." He leaned closer. "The same will happen to anyone coming after you."
With a smirk, RaChay opened the door. "Come on, Lucky. He's let our cook escape, now we'll have to get something to eat ourselves."
The two men left the room, shutting the door and latching it.
"Estel, what are you doing here?" Legolas asked, concerned for the man.
Aragorn sat up, a bright smile on his face. "I'm rescuing you."
Legolas raised a brow. "You were not hurt as bad as I thought?"
"No. I wanted them to think I was weak." He struggled against his bonds. "I was hoping they wouldn't tie me so well if they thought I was too injured to try and escape."
The Elf sighed. "If you're my rescuer, then who is going to rescue you?"
To Be Continued...
*trews is the oldest word for men's tight-fitting trousers.
Disclaimers from Chapter One still stand. Now let's see what's happening to our heroes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 10
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Legolas awoke to the feel of someone's cold rough hands between his bare skin and the waistband of his trews.* It catapulted him into full consciousness. His jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed in anger. "Get your filthy hands off me!" he growled.
"He's awake," Lucky said. He had one knee on the bed beside Legolas as he fumbled underneath the prone Elf, fighting with the unfamiliar garment.
"Maybe he can tell you how to unlatch those fancy Elven clothes of his," another of the men jested.
Frustrated and in pain, Legolas began to curse fluently in Sindarin. The humans wouldn't understand the words, but they would get his intended contempt.
"We just want to see all of you," Lucky told Legolas, "and maybe play a little bit." He moved his hands to the belt outside Legolas' suede tunic and began to undo it. Legolas squirmed beneath him, helpless in his fetters.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The wind came gusts, but the snow continued to fall thickly outdoors.
Aragorn had hidden his horse on the far side of the barn. It had been the best he could do under the circumstances to secure a getaway. He then had made his way toward the farmer's house, which he had circled three times in an attempt to determine where they held Legolas.
Light came through the cracks of the wooden shutters upstairs in the front room, downstairs in the front room and in what Aragorn had determined was the kitchen. It appeared to him that the kitchen and front room shared a fireplace between them, since there was only one chimney on the roof. Chances were the upper rooms had no hearths.
His best chance to infiltrate the home was through the kitchen, Aragorn decided. He felt bitterly cold as he stopped to study the back door. His footsteps made no noise as he moved cautiously to the kitchen's door. It wouldn't be noise that gave him away to any occupants, he knew, it would be the cold wind seeping inside when he opened the door. Keeping this in mind, he stood with his body against the door, took hold of the latch, and opened it only a fraction.
The smell of tea and cooking meat reached his nostrils. He could hear a child crying and also a strange, repetitive pounding sound. His view captured only a sliver of the room, he could not see the child or what made the pounding sound. Aragorn's heart beat loudly in his ears as he pushed the door open just a little more.
Now he could see inside. A woman pounded doe on a table and two small children clung to her skirts. He could only see her in profile, but it was evident from the tears on her face that she cried softly as she worked.
The cold must have caught her attention, because she turned, eyes wide with fear, toward the door. Aragorn's gaze met hers, and he held his finger to his lips.
She wiped her hands on her apron and approached him, her face a mixture of fear and hope.
"Get the children and come with me," Aragorn whispered. "Do you have a cloak?"
She had a shawl wrapped across her chest and tied in back, but it would not do much against the freezing temperatures outside. "No." She picked up one child and grabbed the older one, who couldn't be more than six, by the hand. The woman went outside and stood as Aragorn closed the door softly behind them.
"Anyone else besides the bandits in the house?" he asked her.
"No. Those murderers killed my husband." She shivered.
Putting his left arm around her shoulders, Aragorn steered the woman and children toward his mount, talking more loudly as they got away from the house. "I'll get you to my horse. It's already saddled. Ride into town. Mr. Skipkey will take care of you."
They rounded the far side of the barn, and Aragorn sheathed his sword and shrugged out of his cloak. He put it around her shoulders and then helped her mount his steed. Handing the children up to her he asked, "Have you seen aught of my friend the Elf?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. If he was the blonde man they had, they took him upstairs. I know not what they've done with him." She paused. "They were brutal to me, if you get my meaning, sir. They are evil. They tortured my husband before they killed him. Made him watch what they did to me."
Aragorn felt his jaw clench at her words. "Go." He took the bridle and turned the horse to face the direction of the town. She put her heels to the horse and rode off.
Redrawing his sword, Aragorn looked around the corner of the barn just in time to the kitchen door standing open. He must not have latched it securely and the wind had blown it back open. Even as Aragorn looked, a man with a sword appeared in the doorway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The fire burned brightly, warming the front parlor, but RaChay added another piece of wood anyway. He listened to the sound of the fire as it crackled, then noticed how quiet it was. Jal and Sidig stood by the kitchen door arguing in low tones about the woman. RaChay's gaze moved down to Panks, who had seated himself on a small stool by the hearth.
"Where is everyone?" RaChay asked. Panks shrugged.
His eyes narrowing in suspicion, RaChay moved toward the stairs. Someone was talking up there and by the tone of it, he wasn't too happy. Taking the steps two at a time, RaChay burst into the room. Lucky knelt over their hostage while Jursel and Spithwon looked on, smiles on their faces. RaChay realized now that it was the Elf he had heard. The creature was talking in some foreign tongue and it sounded as if he was cursing them.
"What are you doing to my Elf?" RaChay demanded. "I told you all not to hurt him."
"We weren't hurting him," Lucky told him. "We just wanted to see more of him. He glows."
RaChay grabbed Lucky's shoulder and yanked him away from the cot where the Elf lay. "If he bleeds, I'm going to take it out of your hide. Can you even imagine what he's worth in Tirillon?"
Legolas had been calling the oaf who harassed him every foul name he could think of, but when RaChay said "Tirillon," the Elf froze. Did these common bandits know about Tirillon? He exhaled, not evening realizing he'd been holding his breath.
RaChay continued to verbally assault the three men as he ushered them out of the room. He paused for a moment once they were gone, looking down at his captive. Besides having his clothes rumpled, the Elf didn't appear to have been harmed.
"You just stay and rest," RaChay ordered. "We'll be riding out soon." Legolas felt the man touch his hair before saying, " A real Elf is worth a lot to me. I won't let them do any permanent harm to you." He bent closer and Legolas could feel the Man's breath next to his ear. "But I will whip you myself if you even try to escape. Got that?"
In answer, Legolas gave the man silence. He would escape. It was just a matter of time and healing. There was no question in the Elf's mind that he would not be humiliated by the likes of these. They acted more like orcs than men. He ground his teeth in frustration.
Laughing, RaChay put a few more pieces of wood on the brazier and left the room, firmly shutting the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Agreed then?" Sidig asked.
"Agreed," Jal grinned. He opened the door to the kitchen, having made a deal with Sidig that he would get the woman first this time. The kitchen was empty. No woman. No brats.
"Hey, she's gone," he told Sidig.
"What?"
Both men moved into the kitchen. "She can't get far," Sidig told Jal. "Let's go find her an teach her why she shouldn't run away."
"Right."
The two men went out the door and looked down at the footprints in the snow. "Someone else was here," Jal said. "Come on, they've gone to the barn."
Aragorn pulled back behind the shelter of the barn. He looked after the woman. She was not able to ride too fast with the snow and two children. He had to give them time to get away. Sword in hand, he straightened his shoulders and went to meet the two marauders.
"Look," Jal growled, seeing a man in dark colors come around the side of the barn. "That's not one of our lot."
"No," Sidig agreed. "Let's get him!"
They approached Aragorn cautiously, swords drawn, one going to his left, one to his right.
In the front room, Panks looked up. Lucky, Jursel and Spithwon were tramping down the stairs. He wondered what they had been doing up there. A moment later he felt cold air on his back, and turned to see the door to the kitchen open.
"Hey, what's going on?" Panks asked, standing and facing the open doorway.
Jursel moved forward and looked in. The kitchen was empty, it's door to the outside wide open. "Where's the woman?" he asked no one in particular.
"Come on, she's trying to get away!" Lucky drew his sword and brushed past Jursel. A moment later, Spithwon and Jursel had followed Lucky out into the snow. They could see Jal and Sidig fighting with someone.
"Five to one, those are odds I like," Lucky said, running to join in the battle.
RaChay came downstairs to find everyone rushing into the kitchen. Panks stood, buckling his sword around his waist.
"What's happening?" RaChay asked.
"Sounds like the woman tried to run away." Panks shrugged. He was older than the others and moved a little more slowly.
Cussing, RaChay stalked toward the kitchen calling back, "You guard the Elf. This may be a trick his friends are playing to get us all out of the house."
Nodding, Panks moved to the foot of the stairs and began to climb.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The three Elves drew their horses to a halt as they saw someone approaching through the flurry of snow.
"It's a woman with children," Elrohir said in amazement. He rode forward towards her and the other two Elves urged their own mounts after him.
"Please," the woman called to them. "Help me get to the village. There are cutthroats in my home. They've taken over and killed my husband."
"Have you seen our friend?" Elrohir asked, taking his cloak off and throwing it over the woman's. He noted that her cloak looked amazingly like Estel's.
"There is a blond man inside…upstairs. The man who gave me this cloak stayed behind," she told Elrohir. "I must get the children to shelter."
Elrohir exchanged glances with his brother. "I'll take them to the Inn, you two go after Estel and Legolas."
Vanasulë and Elladan nodded, then turned their horses toward the farmhouse, which was now just visible to their Elven eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The door to Legolas' room opened again and something heavy was dragged inside. Spitting his hair out of his face, Legolas looked over to see Aragorn half-dragged, half-walk in. RaChay and Lucky pushed Aragorn down into a sitting position at the foot of the bed. He had a bleeding gash across the side of his head and an already swelling shut right eye. His eyes were half-lidded, as if he were only partially conscious.
RaChay and Lucky, both wearing identical angry glares as they worked, tied Aragorn's hands behind his back and then secured them to the foot and frame of Legolas' bed.
"Now we have two hostages," RaChay said straightening.
"Yeah, but Jal and Sidig are dead." Lucky kicked Aragorn in the side saying, "That'll teach you to mess with us."
With a soft groan, Aragorn fell over on his side and brought his knees up.
RaChay looked at the Elf and met the creatures' hateful blue stare. "See, I told you. You're mine, and so's your human friend now." He leaned closer. "The same will happen to anyone coming after you."
With a smirk, RaChay opened the door. "Come on, Lucky. He's let our cook escape, now we'll have to get something to eat ourselves."
The two men left the room, shutting the door and latching it.
"Estel, what are you doing here?" Legolas asked, concerned for the man.
Aragorn sat up, a bright smile on his face. "I'm rescuing you."
Legolas raised a brow. "You were not hurt as bad as I thought?"
"No. I wanted them to think I was weak." He struggled against his bonds. "I was hoping they wouldn't tie me so well if they thought I was too injured to try and escape."
The Elf sighed. "If you're my rescuer, then who is going to rescue you?"
To Be Continued...
*trews is the oldest word for men's tight-fitting trousers.