Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.


A/N:

*smiles smugly* I'm so glad you liked that last cliffy, I was kind of proud of it myself... Okay, so it may have been a little bit evil, but really, what did you expect? And the torture bit wasn't THAT bad, now was it? I mean, at least he didn't get whipped - yet... *runs away cackling evilly*

And to those who think that I am treating Legolas unfair (after all, he didn't get tortured in a while - hey! Your logic, not mine! *g*) let me just say one thing: Just you wait... Things can always get worse, and usually, they do get worse, too... *g* The same goes for Celylith, for whom I am planning something rather not nice at the moment - but don't tell him that, he might try to escape again...


Okay, so, here is chapter 12 which only shows that this whole story is already _way_ longer than it was meant to be. *sighs* Well, nothing I can do about that, I fear, the characters just refuse to shut up!
Anyway, as I said, chapter 12, in which Legolas and Celylith demonstrate several different groups just what happens when they hurt their friends, poor Estel gets rescued of course and we have a little talk with Seveawen. Plus, it's no cliffy, at least that's what I think. *g*


Enjoy and review, please!






Chapter 12


There were few times when Legolas could remember being this angry. He usually reserved this kind of raw, burning, all-consuming hatred for orcs, but when he looked at the blonde man in front of him, he found out that it was even possible for this anger to go up a notch, something he previously would have thought highly improbable.

They had left Owaeran's house about two hours ago and split up once they had reached the part of the docks Nyssa had named as possible hiding places, and the past hour had been spent with searching one of the dark buildings after the other.

Of course this building had been the last they had searched, as things always happened in such situations. Owaeran, Seobryn and the four servants who had agreed to some with them were still searching the buildings on the other side of the pier, and so the two elves had entered this one on their own, just in time to hear a pain-filled cry from somewhere in the back of the vast abandoned factory, a cry they had recognised all too quickly.

Legolas first instinct had been to rush forwards without the slightest regard to his own safety, but Celylith's hand on his arm had stopped him before he had even taken more than two steps. The silver haired elf had merely looked at him and shook his head, his eyes betraying the turmoil he felt, but even if Estel was his friend, he would not let his prince rush to his certain death just like that.

The fair haired elf had taken a deep breath and forcefully calmed himself. Celylith was right, it wouldn't help Aragorn if he got himself killed instead of helping him.

Carefully the two of them had made their way through the dark building, and after a few dozen steps they had come across a man that was guarding another set of doors, apparently oblivious to the fact that there was another way into the building. Legolas, not being in the mood for idle conversation, had soundlessly drawn one of his knives, and, taking it by the hilt and not by the blade as usual, thrown it swiftly at the bored-looking man, hitting his temple with the hilt and causing him to crumple in a graceless heap without making a sound.

Celylith had quickly walked over and taken the human's weapons and Legolas' dagger; while they were rather unconcerned that the man might wake up suddenly, there was no reason to give him the means to kill them, since they had no time to bind him now. Straightening up, the silver haired elf had spied Aragorn's other weapons and had taken them as well, giving the unconscious man a disgusted look.
Their keen elven ears detecting the sound of a voice somewhere to the right of them, they had stealthily made their way deeper into the factory, and, guided by the voice, had quickly found what they had been looking for.

Soundlessly they had entered a vast room with some pipes running through the entire length of it, both with their bows drawn and arrows notched.
They had rounded a pile of stacked wood and three figures had become visible, two of them holding the third close to one of the pipes from which a constant stream of hot steam escaped.

"…won't even have noticed that you are gone!"

His heart clenching in fury, the elven prince had quickly made his way over to the unsuspecting humans, the two strangers blocking the sight of Aragorn.

One of the men, with blonde hair and contempt in his voice, had stepped closer to his captive and asked in a mocking voice,

"You see? You are on your own, ranger. Where are they now, your friends, the elves?"

A wave of fury had swept over him then, and Legolas had stated in a soft, threatening voice, a voice so cold that it chilled even Celylith to his bones,

"Right behind you."

The two humans had swivelled around, and exactly that had been the point when Legolas had found out that, no matter how angry he already was, it was always possible to get even angrier.

The elven prince tightened his grip on his bow, forcing himself not to simply shoot these men who were slowly edging backwards, keeping Aragorn between them and the irate elves. Killing in cold blood was behaviour unbefitting an elf, especially killing one of the edain. But, he decided after a second, silver-blue eyes burning with fury when he studied the body of his human friend, today he might make an exception.

The dark haired ranger looked as if he would drop to the ground if not for the hands that still gripped his bound arms, his eyes tightly closed and teeth clenched as he tried to combat the pain he was very obviously in. Swiftly blossoming bruises covered his face and what was visible of his chest, and past the slashed fabric he could he could also see … burns?

Legolas eyes slowly travelled from the battered body of his friend to the pipes behind the humans, and had to fight hard for composure as the pieces fell into place.

"Let him go," he commanded softly, his voice trembling slightly with raw, unrestrained fury. "Let him go and we might not kill you where you stand."

The blonde man sneered and produced a knife, holding it close to the younger man's neck, too close.
"You will do nothing of that sort, elf," he hissed. "Get back or I will kill your friend."

At the sound of voices Aragorn opened his eyes, blinking in confusion as he saw the faces of his elven friends.
"Legolas?" he questioned softly.

"Yes, Estel, it is me," Legolas soothed in Elvish, his eyes not leaving the blade the other man held. "Hold on, my friend."

The blonde man grinned, but quickly growing panic was beginning to fill his eyes. He was stuck here with two vengeful elves and nowhere to go. He grabbed a handful of the ranger's dark hair and pulled him slightly to the right to shield himself better, grinning again when he felt the man stiffen in pain.

The blonde elf's eyes seemed to light with a cold blue fire at that, and he took a small step forward that was mirrored by the other elf.
"Touch him again and I swear it will be the very last thing you will ever do."

The man wanted to retort something, but found to his surprise that his voice didn't seem to work as he kept staring at the deadly blue eyes of the elf that promised him a painful death should he dare hurt the ranger again. He swallowed nervously and began to slowly edge sidewards, pulling the ranger with him. If he was lucky, he would be able to get out of here after all…

Legolas saw the man slowly move in the direction of the exit, and shot Celylith a quick look who nodded his head almost imperceptibly. They couldn't wait any longer; they couldn't allow that man to take Aragorn outside. This had to end, and he would end it here.

The elven prince took another careful step forwards, furtively manoeuvring himself into a better position. Then, with an inward plea to Elbereth to make sure that his human friend wouldn't move, he released the arrow quickly and without warning. The blonde man had no time to react, and he collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain together with the young ranger, a brown feathered arrow sticking out of his right shoulder.

The other man, however, was not so lucky, since he had moved at the exact same time that Celylith had released his arrow. The silver haired elf's projectile had hit him squarely in the chest, propelling him backwards a few feet. Legolas didn't waste any more time pondering the man's fate but quickly moved forwards and rolled the blonde man that was trying to get back to his feet off Aragorn and, with a swift kick to his right hand, persuaded him to let go of the dagger as well.

Before the man had even a chance to understand what was happening, the fair haired elf was upon him, his eyes hard and emotionless and one of his knives placed exactly over his heart.

"Who are you?" Legolas asked the man, pushing down the blade lightly. "What do you want from us? Who is your employer?"

Lomar looked up wildly, his thoughts racing. He didn't doubt that the elf would kill him if he had to, but if he betrayed his comrades, his captain or his liege, he would die too, but a death more horrible than even an elf could ever come up with.
'One way or the other, I'm dead,' he thought calmly and quickly came to a decision.

He grinned at the startled elf above him and, with a quick move of his hands, grabbed the dagger and thrust it down, directly into his heart.

"No!" Legolas called out in shock, trying to pull back his weapon, but it was already too late. The knife was buried deeply in the human's chest, and the man gave a sigh, a mocking light shining in his eyes until it dimmed and finally went out altogether.

Legolas stared at the dead human in front of him. That man had just calmly taken the knife and buried it in his own chest! Why would he do such a thing? What could he possible have feared so much that he would prefer death to capture?

He looked over to Celylith who had walked over to the human he had shot and crouched down next to him, feeling for a pulse. After a moment he looked up, eyes dark and cold, and slowly shook his head.

Wonderful, Legolas thought sarcastically as he removed his knife from the man's ribcage, so now they had two dead men, a lot of questions and no answers to why they had taken Aragorn…

"Aragorn!" the elven prince gasped, cursing himself for his moment of distraction. He quickly moved over to his friend's side who was weakly trying to push himself into a sitting position and cut his bonds with a quick slash of his dagger. Legolas' hands hovered over the young ranger's form for a moment as he was trying to determine where he could touch the man so he wouldn't hurt him, and finally decided that the left upper arm was as good a guess as any.

"Aragorn," he repeated, carefully pulling the man into a sitting position and allowing him to rest against his chest, ignoring his bruised ribs that screamed in pain at the pressure. "O the Valar, what did you get yourself into this time?"

"I'm sorry, mellonamin," the young ranger mumbled quietly, leaning back against his friend in exhaustion. "It was a trap … I didn't mean to get caught…"

"I know you didn't," the blonde elf shook his head, carefully tipping the other's head to the side and inspecting the abrasion on his friend's temple. "This is beginning to tire me, human. I always have to come and rescue you. What were you thinking, Aragorn?"

Aragorn ignored the elf's last question and snorted softly, his eyes sliding shut again now that the pain of his injuries was beginning to catch up with him once more.
"The last time I came and rescued you, elf, do not forget that."

"And I seem to be condemned to helping both of you out of trouble," Celylith announced cheerfully, crouching down next to his friends and starting to push the ranger's shirt aside to have a look at his injuries. "Elbereth, Strider, what did they do to you?"

The young man struggled to open his eyes, fighting against the very tempting sleep that was beginning to creep up on him.
"Oh, they got upset when I wouldn't answer their questions," he said softly, eyes closing once again. "I couldn't … didn't even know what they wanted … then … pipes…"

"Who did this, Estel?" Legolas whispered fiercely, gently brushing sweat-soaked dark hair away from the human's forehead. "Who of them did this?"

Aragorn weakly nodded into the direction where Lomar lay, wincing slightly when Celylith gently touched the burnt side of his chest.
"He and one of the others … perhaps two, though… I cannot remember."

"They're dead, do not worry, my friend," Legolas assured the young man quietly. "And I am quite sure they regretted their course of action before the end."

His human friend didn't reply, and the elven prince leaned forward, trying to peer in his face.
"Estel? Aragorn, are you awake? Estel!"

"He's lost consciousness," Celylith informed the fair haired elf seriously, laying a hand on his arm to calm the distraught prince. "And it's probably for the best. He has a lot of bruises and perhaps a few cracked ribs, even though I do not think so. There might be a concussion though, and some of the burns look quite ugly. We need to get him back to Owaeran's house. There is nothing I can do for him here."

Legolas nodded soundlessly, shifting the human in his arms so he could carry him. If Celylith said they couldn't do anything here, then he believed him. Legolas had been instructed in the healing arts himself, as every warrior was, but Celylith's mother had been a master healer before she had departed over the Sea, and she had taught her son much of what she had known. While he certainly wasn't skilled to the same extent as Aragorn, the twins or Lord Elrond, he knew more than enough for Legolas to trust in his judgement.

"Let us go then," he said, struggling to his feet and ignoring the fact that his head seemed to spin around its own axis at that. All this running around Esgaroth desperately looking for his missing friend hadn't done anything to help his still aching head.

"Legolas, I think it would be better if I…" Celylith began, but Legolas interrupted him quickly, swaying slightly on his feet until he regained his balance.

"I am more than capable of carrying him," Legolas stated more confidently than he felt, shooting his elven friend a warning glare.

The silver haired elf returned the dark glare in kind, looking dubiously at the other elf. Legolas looked anything but fit to carry anything right now, especially something as heavy as Estel. He slowly shook his head in exasperation as he recognised the incredibly stubborn look on his friend's face.

"Wait a second then, my prince," he said, shrugging out of his cloak and draping it over the unconscious human, "He will need this. It's too cold outside for him to go dressed like that."

The fair haired prince smiled his thanks and turned, carefully making his way over the uneven ground to the exit. They passed the spot where they had left the guard; unsurprisingly, he was gone. They had both expected it, and so they didn't waste time trying to find out where he had disappeared to. He was probably long gone and as far away from here as humanly possible.

Celylith opened the wooden door that led onto the pier they had come from, and while he held it open so that Legolas could pass through, a shout reached their elven ears, automatically causing the elven warrior to reach for his sword.

He relaxed again when he realised that it were Owaeran, Seobryn and the other men that had spotted them and were now running into their direction.

"Strider?" Seobryn gasped as he skidded to a halt next to the elven prince. "Great Ones, is he…"

"No," Legolas shook his head, a flash of pain racing across his features at that movement. "No, he isn't and he won't either. But we need to get him back."

Owaeran nodded, not being able to tear his eyes away from the pale, bruised face of the young ranger. Eru, it was his fault that he was in this condition, his and his brother's…

"Yes," he nodded dazedly. "Yes, let us go. Are there any men you would wish me to hand over to the authorities?"

He wasn't surprised when both elves shook their heads mutely. It would have astonished him to learn that any of those who had taken the ranger still lived. He had never seen someone as angry as those two when they had begun to search this area.

"No, no-one," Celylith added softly. "There are two men back in that building though. They … will never leave it again either."

"So I had thought," the trader commented somewhat dryly before turning to Seobryn who was still staring at Aragorn's unmoving form with concern. "You, lad. Run ahead and inform the Mistress that we are coming. She will know what to do."

The boy looked up somewhat unwillingly, but quickly nodded and turned, disappearing quickly in the direction of Owaeran's house, the snow crunching loudly under his feet.

Legolas turned without another word and followed the young man, carefully making his way over the ice-crusted planks of the docks. Celylith followed his lord, wincing inwardly when he saw the blank, guilt-filled eyes of the fair haired elf. He would have to talk with him about this, he decided with an inward sigh as they were walking over yet another bridge, he would have to make Legolas see reason. There was no way he could have prevented what had happened, it had been incredibly bad luck, pure and simple.

He shook his head and gave a small smile. This was another of these things, he mused, another of the things his friend had adopted over the past two years. The tendency to blame himself for things that were beyond his control had always been rather pronounced of the other elf, but in those two years it had had grown to improbable dimensions.

'It is a Rivendell thing,' he decided with a nod of his head, ''Tis a Noldorin habit, that much is clear. Perhaps it's contagious; I should be careful the next time I come there.'

He winced inwardly. There was no way he would go anywhere near the Last Homely House in the near future, not after this. He didn't want to incur the wrath of at least four elf lords, namely that of the master of said house, of his sons and another elf who had faced a balrog and … well, perhaps not exactly lived to tell the tale, but at least he had prevailed, in a way.

If Lord Elrond, the twins and Lord Glorfindel (not to mention the rest of Rivendell's population) heard that he had allowed Estel to get himself into this, he would be as good as dead. And that was only when he managed to survive his encounter with his liege.

Before he could dwell further on this rather depressing subject, they reached Owaeran's house, and before one of them could even knock, the door was flung wide open, allowing them to enter. When they reached the staircase, Misien was already waiting for them, looking as if she had everything perfectly under control.

That impression was affirmed when she immediately began to send the clustering servants off into different parts of the house and gave the elves a small nod.
"You can bring him upstairs," she said quietly, standing on her toes to peer into Aragorn's pale face, "The fire is already burning and there are several extra blankets and hot water should you need it. Bandages you have yourselves, haven't you?"

"Indeed we have, my lady," Legolas nodded. "Thank you."

He began to make his way up the stairs, and after a pointed look from her mother Seveawen hurried after him, holding a lamp and trying very much to act calm, as if elves carrying injured rangers and vice versa was an not an unusual occurrence in her house.

Celylith looked after him for a second before turning back to the elderly woman.
"My lady, we will need cold water as well."

Misien nodded, and Owaeran added,

"Is there anything else you need?"

The elven warrior frowned, thinking quickly. What herbs could these humans possibly have that he could use?
"Marigold," he finally said, deciding that the usual elven herbs would not be found here. "If you have some, I would greatly appreciate it if you could bring it to us with the water."

"It will be done, Master Elf," the woman assured the elf. "I will bring you what we have."

Celylith nodded at the humans and quickly followed his friends upstairs. He arrived just in time to see Legolas place the unconscious human on the bed in his room, stumbling slightly as he did so. Cursing inwardly, Celylith silently entered the room. Aragorn had been right after all, Legolas was merely 'fine'-fine.

Wondering for a moment what it said about his own sanity that he was adopting the ranger's expressions, he stepped closer and pressed the elven prince down onto the edge of the bed.
"Stay here, Legolas. I will get the bandages and everything. I don't want to pick you off the floor as well."

The elven prince was too concentrated on his human friend to protest, already busy trying to get him out of the shirt. When that proved to pain the human too much even in his unconscious state, he simply took one of his daggers and cut it off his body.

"Elbereth," he quietly muttered, feeling how his temper once again flared to life. The entire left side of Aragorn's chest was red and hot to the touch, with large blisters forming atop the abused flesh. Bruises coloured the right side of the chest and his face, and could also been seen beneath the burnt skin of the left side of the torso.

He looked up in surprise when he felt a cup being pressed into his hand.
"Here," Celylith told him, already turning back to get the water and the bandages. "Get him to drink this. Cleaning the burns will be painful and I would want to spare him that."

Without a word, Legolas obeyed, carefully lifting his friend's head and slowly coaxing the potion into his mouth. At first the Aragorn didn't appear too inclined to drink what was being given to him, but when Legolas started to talk to him quietly in Elvish, he relaxed slightly and allowed the elf to administer the sleeping drug.

'That is something new,' a voice inside his head stated surprised.

Indeed it was, Legolas thought, very much surprised himself as he placed the empty cup on the small nightstand next to the bed. Aragorn had drunk medicine without fighting him overly much, trying to escape or giving him the look. He would remember that for the next time the young ranger needed to drink something, he thought, he would simply knock him out and make everything a lot easier for all of them.

Once the two elves were sure that the ranger was deeply unconscious, they began cleaning the bruises and the cut at the side of his head. Legolas had to consciously stop his hand shaking as he carefully applied a healing salve to the bruises on the right side of Aragorn's ribcage. Had he only stopped his friend from leaving the house alone! He should have known something like this would happen, they had attracted far too much attention to themselves after all. And now the young human had paid the price for his foolishness…

A hand caught his slightly shaking wrist and squeezed it gently. Startled, the elven prince looked up into the face of his childhood friend.

"Don't," Celylith advised quietly. "Don't blame yourself, Legolas. It was not your fault. You are not a Vala, nor are you gifted with foresight or infallible. These dark thoughts will help none of us, neither you nor him. He will tell you the same once he awakens."

Legolas smiled slightly, his eyes looking a little less haunted.
"He probably will, reckless human that he is." He looked at his elven friend and nodded his head. "Thank you, mellonamin. You are right."

"Of course I am," the silver haired elf replied, trying to lighten the sombre mood. "Another thing you have yet to learn, my lord: I am always right."

"Are you?" Legolas asked back, once again concentrated on the still body of his human friend. "That is interesting, for I do remember the one time when we…"

"My lords?" a female voice interrupted them, and they turned to see Seveawen stand in the doorway, carrying a bowl with cold water and some herb sacks. The girl looked at them with wide blue-green eyes that showed no sign of intimidation or fear though.

"My mother sent me," she elaborated, slowly walking into the room. "She is busy with the servants and she has forbidden my father to come here."

Celylith quickly got to his feet and took the items from her, smiling his thanks.
"Thank you, my lady," he said, watching as the girl blushed at that title.

Legolas arched an eyebrow at her.
"Your father was forbidden to come here?"

Seveawen blushed even more deeply when she realised that she probably shouldn't have mentioned that little fact.

"Yes, Lord Legolas," she said, carefully taking another step closer to the bed and peering at its occupant. "My mother said that he would only be in the way and wouldn't help the 'poor, polite young boy'." She shrugged apologetically when the two elves grinned at each other. "I am sorry, she is always like that. Very protective of our guests, I mean."

"Your mother is a very helpful lady, Seveawen," Legolas said earnestly. "She is the best host one could wish for, and we are deeply in her debt for her hospitality."

The girl blushed again, and Legolas wondered that perhaps she and Seobryn were made for each other. He had never seen anyone blush as easily as those two young ones.

"Thank you," she said quietly, and added, "Can I do anything to help? I promise I will not be in the way."

Celylith looked up from his bowl where he had been mixing dried marigold with the cold water the girl had brought. The marigold was the next best thing to the elven herbs he had been taught to use for cleaning burns, which nobody had thought to bring with them, of course. They had enough ointment and bandages to treat twenty people with burns twice as bad as Aragorn's, but nothing to wash the wounds with. He sighed inaudible. The marigold would have to do, and from what he had learned, it would do quite nicely, too.

"You can bring me the warm water, lady," he said, turning his attention back to his bowl. "But after that I would ask you to leave. Cleaning burns is tremendously painful for the victim, and I would not like you to see such things."

The girl scowled at the elf's back, but picked up the hot water that was sitting on a small stool next to the fireplace and brought it over to him.
"Do not tell me, Master Elf: Because I am too young."

Celylith took the water from her and poured some into his bowl until the water had reached a tepid temperature. Stirring its contents slightly, he smiled at the look of indignation on the young woman's face.
"Precisely, lady. You are far too young for such things."

"I am not young! I am seventeen!" Seveawen exclaimed, placing hands on hips.

"Oh, of course," Legolas nodded from his place on the bed's edge, trying to hide an amused smile. He could very well remember the countless arguments he had had with Aragorn about this particular topic. "Forgive us our ignorance, my lady. Seventeen is not young."

Seveawen tried to glower at the prince, but found it hard to resist the laughing sparkle in those silver-blue eyes. Finally, she smiled and shook her head.
"He was right," she stated, preparing to leave the room. "I will go then. Please call should you need anything. Will Mr. Strider be alright?"

Celylith gave her a small, but sincere smile that seemed to light up his entire face.
"Yes, lady, he will. He is too stubborn not to be. Thank you for your help."

Legolas nodded at the girl, smiling as well.
"You have my thanks as well, Seveawen." He waited until she had almost reached the door and asked, "Who was right, my lady?"

The young woman turned and smiled, pushing a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Seobryn. He said that he would never understand elves, no matter how long he lived. He said that your souls were too paradox and profound to understand in a mortal lifetime, and that only a fool would try and reason with an elf." Her smile broadened. "He didn't say it quite like this, but I think that was the tenor of his remarks."

With a small curtsy she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving two rather amused elves behind.

"I am hurt," Celylith stated, eyes twinkling as he carried the bowl with the water and marigold over to the bed. "I had come to like that boy."

Legolas merely smiled at his friend.
"You, dear Celylith, have missed the point."

"Have I, my lord?" the silver haired elf asked as he made sure that all healing utensils were within easy reach.

"Yes," Legolas nodded with a smug smile. "Seobryn told her."

Celylith just stared at him for a second before understanding began to dawn on his face.
"Oh! Seobryn told her!" He gave the elven prince a careful cuff. "You! What have you written in that poem?"

Legolas shrugged lightly and returned his attention to the still body of his human friend, turning serious quicker than one would have thought possible
"Shall we?"

The other nodded gravely, hoping that the sleeping draught had been potent enough. He hadn't much experience in drugging humans, and he hadn't wanted to overdose the man. He would have to ask the Lord of Imladris how much of the root was adequate the next time he saw him, he decided. If he lived that long, that was.

"Yes, the sooner the better. Hold him down as best as you can, this will hurt quite a lot."

And that it did, all three of them.

As Celylith had predicted did the pain from cleaning the burns even penetrate the unconscious haze that enveloped the young ranger's mind, and at times Legolas needed all his strength to hold his friend's body down that was desperately trying to escape their ministrations. While he was incessantly murmuring soothing Elvish words to Aragorn, hoping to calm him some this way, the elven prince tried with all his might not to listen to the moans and soft cries of pain that his human friend couldn't hold back.

By the time they had finished, Legolas felt thoroughly drained and filled with a choking mixture of guilt, pain, fear and an overwhelming fury. If he ever got his hands on the people who had ordered this, they would pay dearly for every bruise his friend had sustained.

Celylith made sure that every burn had been washed, treated with a special healing salve left behind by Lord Elrond and bound lightly before turning worried eyes on his prince. Legolas was almost as white as Estel and looked about as terrible as he himself felt.

He lifted a hand – when had his hands started shaking? – and pointed it at the blonde elf.

"Stay," he commanded curtly. "I will have another look at your head and ribs. You are not well yourself."

"I am…"

"Not well yourself," Celylith repeated, pushing Legolas back down. "I will have a look at you and then you will take some rest, my friend."

"I do not need rest," the other protested, "I need to find out what is going on here!" Legolas ran a hand through his now slightly frayed braids. "It cannot go on like this! Aragorn's been injured because we keep stumbling around this town like deaf orcs that cannot hear the tune the piper is playing! This has to end!"

"You are right," the silver haired elf agreed rather unimpressed, grabbing his friend's chin and tipping his head to the side so he could inspect the healing cut on his temple. "We will ask the 'Fox' a few questions tomorrow. Tomorrow, Legolas," he gave the prince a stern look. "Take some rest, mellonamin. Aragorn will be fine, the worst is over now. He should wake tomorrow morning, you can come back then."

Legolas gave him a cool stare while the elven warrior was rewrapping the head wound despite the prince's protests.
"Why does everybody here think they can order me around?"

Celylith fastened the bandage and smiled at him.
"No-one does, my lord; that must be your imagination. You should go to sleep."

Legolas shook his head stubbornly and rolled up in his armchair, holding his bruised ribs and giving the sleeping form of his human friend a last look.
"I am not leaving this room."

"I hadn't expected you to," Celylith sighed, suddenly understanding why Lord Elrond looked so terribly stressed every time one of these two was injured and the other was, naturally, being difficult.

"Ilúvatar, I hadn't expected you to."




The next morning found Legolas and Celylith the exact same way: In armchairs next to Aragorn's bedside. A few hours ago the elven prince had finally succumbed to sleep when Celylith had promised to keep watch over the young human and wake him should there be a change.

Grumbling inwardly, the silver haired elf got up and walked over to the fireplace to add some more wood. Sleeping in armchairs was yet another Rivendell thing, he decided. While he had no problems sleeping in a tree – of course not, he was a Silvan elf, after all – he couldn't understand what was so comfortable about armchairs that the sons of Elrond and Legolas insisted on sleeping in them.

Owaeran had already come and gone. The trader had seemed a lot older than on the day they had met, and he had beseeched them to let this go and return to their woodland home. He didn't want them to suffer any more injuries because of what his brother had got himself into.

Legolas had politely stated that he would think about it, but Celylith knew very well that this was not true. There was no way his prince was returning to Mirkwood now, for that he was far too stubborn. Legolas would find out what this was all about, and if he had to turn Esgaroth upside down for it, then he would do so, without even thinking twice. Besides, everything was better than to return to the king's halls with a bandage wrapped around your head

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Legolas began to stir in his chair. He readjusted his vision just in time to see Misien enter the room, followed by two servants that were carrying trays.

"Here, my lords," she said, stepping closer and smiling at them. "I brought you some breakfast. It won't do him any good if you starve yourselves. You look far too thin anyway!"

Legolas blinked slowly. They looked thin?
"Thank you, my lady," he said, trying to ignore Celylith's barely hidden grin. "Your concern is very much appreciated."

He accepted the tray one of the men was handing him and stared at the food with wide eyes. They were expected to actually eat that much? Even a hobbit would have trouble eating all of it! He smiled at Celylith who eyed the tray with something akin to despair. Legolas gave him an evil grin. The silver haired elf ate even less than himself, and human food had never really been to his liking.

"How is he?" Misien asked after the servants had left the room again. She looked at her hands, guilt etched on her features. "I am so sorry, sirs. My husband never meant for this to happen, and my brother-in-law surely didn't either."

"They are not at fault," Legolas shook his head. "Your husband couldn't have known what would happen. Strider will be fine, he will wake up soon."

"No, Legolas," Celylith smiled, looking up from where he had inspected the human's bandages, "He is waking up now."

The fair haired elf quickly turned and moved closer to the bed, staring at the young man's face. Aragorn's eyes were beginning to move under the lids and the hand that the prince held was beginning to twitch slightly.

"Estel!" he called softly, switching his speech to Elvish. "Come, my friend, you have slept long enough! Celylith was already beginning to think he had overdosed you! Do you want your father and brothers to kill him for such a minor mistake? Wake up, Estel!"

Slowly, a rather glazed grey eye was opened, and after a moment or two, the second was pried open tentatively. When the young ranger was sufficiently satisfied that neither his head would explode as it threatened to nor his chest would burst into flames – which it apparently already had – he slowly turned his head to the right, following the voice.

"Legolas … where?" he asked in a hoarse voice, squinting to focus his eyes on the smiling figure of his elven friend.

"We are back in Master Owaeran's house," the prince explained in Westron, reaching out to place a slender hand against the young human's cheek. "We are safe, don't worry. You will be fine as well, you miraculously only cracked one rib. There is a light concussion however, and the burns of course. You need rest."

Aragorn closed his eyes again, but they shot open when he remembered something he had already wanted to tell his friends in the warehouse.
"The men … they were not the 'Fox's'."

"We know, my friend," Legolas nodded, wincing inwardly when he saw the pain on his friend's face the other was trying so hard to hide. He had experienced such burns once or twice in his life as well, and it was something he would very much like to forget. It was among the most painful injuries there were, and for a human they had to be even worse.

He winked at his elven friend out of the corner of his eye, and Celylith nodded, already beginning to mix yet another sleeping draught in a goblet. It was probably best if they kept the young human drugged today, this way they would spare him a lot of unnecessary pain.

Aragorn hadn't noticed the elves' silent exchange, and he frowned, trying to remember what he could about the men.
"There … there were two of them."

"Nay, Estel, when we found you there were three," Legolas said and added, with more satisfaction than he should feel, "Two of them are dead."

The ranger shook his head and froze when pain lanced through his skull.
"No, I mean there were two leaders, the other two were only hired for the job, I think. One of them left … I cannot remember when and where he went. He was gone suddenly."

The elven prince frowned.
"Do you know why he left?"

"No," Aragorn shook his head, exhaustion and pain beginning to tinge his words. "No. I … I was lying on the floor, I think, and when they had picked me up again, he was gone."

Legolas squeezed his friend's hand, cursing himself for having brought these memories back to his friend. He had hoped to get the young man's thoughts off his nightmares, not give him new ones, for Eru's sake!

"It's not important now, mellonamin. You should rest and regain your strength; we will see to it that nothing harms you again."

He looked at Celylith who held up the cup with the sleeping potion, shrugging helplessly. Now that Aragorn was awake, there was no way that he would allow them to drug him back into unconsciousness just like that. But if… He would never make a fuss when a stranger, and a female stranger at that, was the one who…

Legolas turned and looked at Misien, who stood at the end of the bed, a small smile playing about her lips. It was good to see the lad awake again, she thought, such a poor, poor boy…

"My lady," he said, taking the goblet from his elven friend, "Would you be so kind to help Strider drink this? He really needs the rest, and I need to leave for a second."

Misien nodded eagerly, missing the look of pure hatred the young ranger shot his friend.
"Gladly, Master Elf," she said and moved closer to the bed, taking the cup form the fair haired elf. "You are right, the poor boy needs rest."

A cough that sounded suspiciously like a snicker could be heard from Celylith's direction, and Aragorn turned his head to glare at the elf, ignoring the flaming pain in his chest as best as he could. Somehow it felt as if his torso was aflame, and even the lightly applied bandages were exerting an almost unbearable pressure on the burnt skin.

"This is not fair," he announced unhappily in Elvish. "I will get you for this, Legolas."

A clear laugh filled the room as Legolas watched his friend allow Misien to pour the bitter concoction into his mouth, trying not to glower at the woman too openly. It wasn't her fault that the potion tasted every bit as bad as Elrond's sleeping draughts.

"Life is never fair, dúnadan," the elf said cheerfully from where he was leaning against the door frame. "I thought you knew that."

He walked back into the room once the ranger had emptied the cup, and if Misien thought it odd that he hadn't left after all, she was too intelligent to ask. He sat down on the bed and watched with a smile how his human friend tried to battle the effect of the drug.

"Sleep, Estel," he said quietly. "There is no need for you to endure this kind of pain. Just go to sleep, and when you wake up tomorrow, you will feel better."

"Tomorrow?" Aragorn asked indignantly, trying to stop his eyes from sliding shut and failing miserably, deep in his heart glad that he was not going to be awake much longer. Legolas was right, he was in a lot of pain. Not that he would admit that, of course. "I will … get you for … this, Legolas, you can … count … on…"

In mid-thought he fell asleep, and the elven prince chuckled quietly, brushing back a strand of dark hair that had fallen over the human's bruised cheek.

"I do, Strider," he said earnestly. "I expect you to exact bloody revenge for this. Do not disappoint me."

He slowly stood to his feet and picked up his breakfast tray where it sat forgotten on the armchair next to the bed. He looked at Celylith's serious face and gave him a small nod.

"I think it is time that we make some plans for tonight. We have a visit to pay."




The 'Fox' was sitting in the room they usually occupied in the "Empty Tankard", surrounded by his men and in a very foul mood.

Not that that was an exceptional or unusual occurrence, no, the dark haired man was rather often in a foul mood. But the past two days had been remarkable even for him, his men had agreed earlier this evening, safe out of their leader's earshot of course. They were perhaps not the most intelligent men ever to grace this world, but they most certainly were not suicidal.

Nobody knew his real name, and nobody had ever asked. The same went for questions about his home, family and things like that. As mentioned before, the men were not suicidal.
All they did know was that the 'Fox' was the most ruthless man ever to live in this city as long as anyone could remember, and that he did their employer's bidding without question.

The dark haired man in question took another mouthful of ale, frowning at the smiling barmaid that handed out even more tankards to his men. When he couldn't stand one thing, it was when someone was laughing while he was in a bad mood. Perhaps he should teach that girl a lesson, he thought, later of course. When there were fewer people around and everything was quiet…

Grinning at that thought, he went back to his favourite pastime these days: Imagine what he would do to the ranger and the elves if he ever got his hands on them. These thought only served to darken his already black mood. After their little encounter with those three his employer had unambiguously stated that he didn't wish them to bother the strangers again. He didn't want any attention drawn to his involvement in the whole matter, and attacking two Mirkwood elves and a ranger had served to do just that.

The dark haired man scowled. One of the elves had single-handedly defeated six of his men without even breaking into a sweat, if it was true what the two men that were still able to speak claimed, and together the three had injured or killed two-thirds of the seventeen men he had had with him that evening.

No, he decided grimly, it didn't matter what their employer said, he wouldn't allow them to get away with this! Defeated by elves, for Eru's sake! That was yet another thing he didn't like: Elves. The world would be a lot better off without those star-gazers, that much was sure.

All of the sudden, the conversation his men had going hushed and finally died completely, and he looked up to see two hooded figures stand in front of their long table, the inn behind them already beginning to empty. It was already late at night, and the few people that were still here were leaving now as inconspicuously and quickly as possible. Every person who came here often knew when to leave, and these two hooded men here meant trouble, even a blind person could see that.

One of the two figures lifted his head, but as much as the men tried to make out the face hidden under the hood, it remained shrouded in shadow.

"The 'Fox', I presume," a soft voice stated, and while it didn't sound threateningly, there was a steely note in it that made quite a few of the assembled men wish they were anywhere but here.

The dark haired man raised an eyebrow, furtively feeling for the hilt of his knife.
"And if that's so?"

The person chuckled quietly, but no mirth could be detected in the emotionless voice.
"Then we have to talk to you. Send your men away and nobody will get hurt."

The 'Fox' lifted the other eyebrow as well.
"What? Are you mad? Who are you?"

The other hooded figure spoke up, his voice just as cold as the first.
"I think you know who we are, human."

At that term the men looked up sharply, and they could do nothing more than stare as the two slowly threw back their hoods. Two elvish faces were revealed, both fair beyond human measure, one with silver and the other with pale golden hair.

"The elves … come back … still alive…"

Heated whispers sprang up like wildfire in the tavern, and the last customers quickly disappeared out of the door while the innkeeper ducked behind his bar. These two definitely meant trouble.

"Well, I will be damned," the 'Fox' stated, grinning at the two elves that just looked back emotionlessly. "You are bold to come here, I'll give you that. In fact, I have to thank you. This way I won't have to go and kill you, you are coming to me. How very considerate, don't you think, boys?"

The men mumbled an affirmative, but they didn't look nearly as enthusiastic about this as the last time they had encountered these elves. Many of them had felt how stupid it was to cross these two.

The fair haired elf gave the man a lenient smile.
"Believe me when I say that nothing would please me more than to teach you a lesson, human. But I will give you one last chance: Send them away and answer a few questions, and every one of you will return home today."

The other elf gave a matching, cold smile.
"Do it not, and many of you won't go anywhere. Ever again."

The dark haired man's face began to take an almost purple colour and the veins on his temples were beginning to swell with rage.
"No-one threatens me, elf. Certainly not you!"

One of the men stepped closer to the elves and reached out to grab one of them by the arm, and this was the exact moment the whole situation exploded, pure and simple. Before the men could even blink, the two elves had drawn their weapons and begun to systematically and effectively eliminate one man after the other.

Before the 'Fox' had even drawn his knife, five of his men lay on the floor, and more and more joined them by the second. The dark haired man watched bewildered as the fair haired elf delivered a punch to one man who was trying to run him through with his blade, a punch that surely had broken the man's jaw, only to whirl around with unbelievable speed to face another attacker that had been trying to sneak up on him.

The 'Fox' growled angrily, trying to suppress the building anxiety in his chest. He had never seen anything like this, not in his nearly forty years. Those two were merely a blur of long hair and gleaming knives, you couldn't even see them long enough to try and attack them!

A cry drew the man back to the situation at hand, and he watched with wide eyes how the silver haired elf let go of a limp human he had obviously just slammed head first into a table, a dark silver eyebrow arched in amusement.
A quick look around confirmed his worst fears: There were only a handful of his men left standing, and most of them were obviously looking for a way out of this situation as a whole.

'Eru,' he thought stunned, 'They have eliminated fifteen of my men, just like that. Sixteen. No, seventeen.'

Well, he decided angrily, he wouldn't go quietly! With a shout of rage he hurled himself at the fair haired elf, his knife drawn and ready to plunge it into his adversary's chest. Unfortunately, his adversary was no longer where he had been only seconds earlier, and therefore his wild slash met only air. Before he could figure out where the elf had disappeared to, a blow to his back almost sent him to his knees, and he whirled around to face the mirthlessly grinning elf.

"Now, human, there's no need for this. You're not as strong anymore without your men to hide behind, are you?"

"I hide behind no-one, elf," the man spat and moved forward to attack again, but before he had even raised his knife half-way, a hand closed around his wrist and squeezed, making him release his blade with a shout. Another hand grasped him by the tunic and slammed him against a wall with a bone-jarring crash.

"Well," the blonde elf said quietly, fixing silver-blue eyes on the human's face, "You should."

The hand that grasped his wrist moved to the front of his tunic, and he felt himself be lifted slightly off his feet. The 'Fox' looked around him wildly for help, but there was no-one left who could have aided him. The other elf who was sporting a gash across his forehead now was just letting the hilt of his dagger crack down on the head of the last man to oppose him, and with a sound of disgust the fair being turned and began to make his way over to them.

"Thank you, my lord," the silver haired elf said, returning his sword and knife to their sheaths, wiping the blood that trickled down from the cut out of his eyes, "I needed this."

"There's no need to thank me, my friend," the elf that was still pinning the man to the wall said without turning around. "'Twas my pleasure." He stared hard at the dark haired man. "My friend, the ranger, got into trouble with a few men yesterday. He is lying unconsciously in a bed now. I really don't like it when that happens to my friends."

The 'Fox' stared at the elf, clearly beginning to panic now. Of course he had heard about it, there was little he didn't hear about, but this hadn't been his doing!
"I … I had nothing to do with that!"

The fair haired elf appraised him with a dark look.
"Who else but you would be trying to pick a fight with us?"

"He's lying, Legolas," the other elf said, trying to hide his grin. Of course they knew that the 'Fox' had not been involved in Aragorn's capture, but this was an excellent way to scare the man. He took a step closer to the struggling human, taking out his knife again. "Let me talk to him, five minutes will suffice."

The dark haired man stared at the elves in horror. They were true, the stories one kept hearing about this accursed race!

"We had nothing to do with it!" he almost shrieked when the fair haired elf's hand pushed him a bit harder against the wall, constricting his airway. "I don't know who they were, but they are the ones that killed Drabo!"

"Why should we believe you?" Legolas asked. "My friend is hurt, and I know for a fact that you are capable of what has been done to him."

The elf's eyes darkened, and for a moment the man could see past the veil that was placed there to hold his emotions in check. In those silver-blue orbs burned a fury so hot that the 'Fox' felt his heart freeze in his chest. He had never seen anyone this angry, and it scared him, more than anything else he could remember.

"I swear to you that I don't know more about them!" he ground out.

"Please, my lord," Celylith spoke up again, an evil glint in his eyes, "I haven't had any man blood in ages! Let me have him!"

Legolas had to fight hard to keep his composure, and the absolute terror in the man's eyes did nothing aid him there. Celylith really overdid it a little now.

"I don't know…" he pursed his lips in thought. "He could be useful yet…" He turned his eyes back on the dark haired man who looked as if he was about to die of fright. "Tell me what your Master has to do with all this. Tell me what it is that you are willing to kill for."

The 'Fox' gulped silently.
"I can't … he would kill me…"

"Do it," the elf countered, tightening his grip on the man's tunic. "Do it now, or I will grant my friend's request." Legolas turned slightly to shoot his broadly grinning friend a taxing look. "He looks hungry, wouldn't you agree?"

"Alright, alright!" the man shrieked when Celylith took a step closer to him. "I will! I will! I swear I'll tell you everything – just don't do that, please! We had nothing to do with the ranger's capture, I swear!"

Legolas gave the terrified man a cold smile.

"Convince me then."





TBC...




 edain - humans, men (pl.)
mellonamin - my friend
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger




See? No cliffy! I thought I needed to take it a little easier for a while or you would drop dead from too many cliffies, and then who would review? *shakes head* No, we can't have that... So, stay tuned for the next post, in which we will finally get some answers, see very cranky and annoyed rangers and will find out whether or not our favourite silver haired elf has turned into Count Celylith and drunk 'the Fox's' blood. *shakes head in disgust* He would deserve it, that much is sure... Oh, yes, and: Review? Please? Reviews help me get the chapters out faster! Really!






Additional A/N:

TrinityTheSheDevil - Hah! As if! I have lots of wonderful voices that talk to ME, m'dear! *g* Well, mainly they say things like "torture-the-ranger-torture-the-elves" over and over again, but well... *giggles* Lof of people liked that particular paragraph! I wrote it with just that thought in mind - if that makes Lomar a sick bastard, then what am I? *evil grin* And you're right, Legolas isn't exactly a happy camper right now...
Fliewatuet - *looks at her quizzically* No, it was NOT NICE, of course not! Did you expect anything _nice_ to happen? Really... *walks off shaking her head* Sorry that this update wasn't that prompt, but well, RL can be a bi*** sometimes, huh?
Coreinha - Well, as I said somewhere at the bottom of the last chapter, 'teryg' is the plural form of 'torog', which is troll. One of these pesky Sindarin grammar thingies... But I'm sure you knew that, it's like adan-edain. *chuckles* But I like the thought of Aragorn getting beaten up by a horde of brothers... *nods frantically* Exactly! The steam was her idea! I gave her an idea for a name for a character she needed, and she gave me this in return. All HER FAULT! *blinks slowly* Sure you're smart, Cor, sure... *huggles her* Thanks for the nice long review!
Elladan - Are you now? Incurably insane, I mean? That's okay, so are 99,9 % of the people here... And: My mind is not sick! No! Really! I am perfectly normal, it's just my alter ego, she thrives on fear and pain, it's rather distressing, really... *g* Well, about the Legolas-Estel-conversation: It's going to be rather short? *evil grin* Thanks a lot for your kind words! *huggles Elladan*
Gwyn - You mean ... *sniff* ... that you ... don't ... don't like me?? *sobs openly* Why? What have I done? He's still alive, isn't he? *anxious look at angry readers that are being held back by Gwyn* You wouldn't let them get me, would you? WOULD YOU???
Shadow Warrior - Oh, another review from you! Thanks! Well, yes, Legolas and Celylith are kinda ... upset right now, that's true...*g* Jope this update was soon enough! Thanks!
Amelie - *blushes* Aww, thanks, I love writing 'horrible cliffhangers'! I really really really do! That makes me evil, doesn't it? Ah well, nothing new, is it? Yeah, Lomar isn't exactly a nice person, but there are worse, believe me. *chuckles darkly* Oh yes, preciousss, there are... And, ah, what shall I say, torture Legolas? Uhm, I think it's ... a possibility, let's put it that way. Just a possibility, okay? Don't panic... *g*
Dragonfly - Well, there aren't many cliffies coming up right now, so don't worry. And yes, Legolas and Celylith will have to kick some butt, I gice you that. Thanks for the review!
Stacee Phelps - Calm down, calm down, that's it, breathe.... _Of course_ I won't let him hang like that, I'm not suicidal, you know? Well, to be perfectly honest, Legolas isn't doing so much to Lomar, since... Oops! I'm not telling! Just read on, my friend, and you shall see. *g*
Alexa - Well, it wasn't exactly a 'room full of humans', was it? I mean, it was a bloody big room with three humans in it, one of them being Aragorn, that's not really that many, huh? But well, they won't get into so much trouble, don't worry - yet. *evil grin* So many things can happen later though... Thanks for reviewing, even though you had no time! Thanks!
TeddyBear888 - Oh, thanks! I think it's a lot longer than the last though, because I am losing the ability to make my characters shut up! Then again, I never really had that ability, so... Anyway, thanks a lot! Reviews are always great!
Mouse - *beams* Thanks! Most people would think it odd that I love it when others tell me that I can write torture scenes well, but most people are stupid, too... And technically, I could be nice to him for a change, yes. But admit it, that would bore you guys half to death and back! But perhaps you're right and I should concentrate on Legolas and/or Celylith for a change... *evil grin*
LadyEvenstar - *hangs head* You're right, I'm an evil writer! Coreinha tried to get me on a 12 steps program to cure me of my evilness, but it didn't work. *g* So you like Wilwarin, huh? Me too, I really could not understand why Legolas, the twins and Aragorn didn't like her! She was adorable, after all. And never fear, I would never write a Slash story, a.) because I really can't see them as lovers (Gah! It's just wrong, isn't it?) and b.) because I would die of laughter and embarassment before I had even written the first sentence. I don't like it much either...
BlackRose1356 - You liked the cliffy? *beams and huggles her* Thanks! Finally, someone who can appreciate them! *evil grin* Thanks so much for your kind words!
MidnightWolf - Yeah well, I troed to write an all-serious scene once and failed miserably. I have a weird sense of humour and couldn't write a scene with at least one stupid joke to save my life. I hope this post was soon enough? And don't worry, Legolas will get his chance to kick some a**!
Eva - Well, yes, I agree, he will be the death of them, if he doesn't get himself killed first, that is... LOL, 'attack of the grumpy elves'? That sounds an awful lot like Attack of the Clones to me... *g* *nod* Yea´h, I don't know what their problem is either! I mean, really, a little bit of torture isn't something that should get you that upset, is it?
Asha Dreamweaver - Thank you! I hope this is soon enough? There is really no way I could make it any sooner, sorry... Thanks for the review!
Zam - *giggles* Down with the humans, huh? Well, I cannot really say I can agree with that, but okay... So YOU kidnapped him? That explains a lot, actually! Uhm, you and Glorfindel have a few issues to work out, did you know that? I mean, you can't keep squirting Clear Eyes at him! *wide-eyed* Spare arms? Zam, this is leaving weird far behind and is nearing absolutely disgusting... *g* And I wouldn't say that, my friend. Let's just say that this fic is far from over, and that Legolas will get his fair share of torture-induced-owies later. And about Celylith ... no, I can't tell you, it's too terrible! *starts sobbing* Poor baby...
Lina - *grabs the back of her shirt* It is NOT Seobryn's fault! And don't kick him in the ... Lina!!! Stop it, now! Éomer!! Dammit, where is that blasted Rohir when you need him? *gulps, preparing to follow Seobryn* You ... read minds? Now that's scary, very, very scary... LOL, I never thought of that scene in TTT when I wrote that, really! But now that you mention it... *snorts* HP came and transfigurated Aragorn into his sword? *blinks* Suuuuuure, Lina, hold on to that thought... *looks around her for Éomer* LOL, so they're gay 'cause they asked for directions? You're right, that's the ultimate proof... And go ahead, pummel Lomar all you want. He deserves it and I don't need him anymore - did you know that I got his name when I put "Yet another red shirt" in the name generator? *g*
Seveawen - Hysterical? Well, that means that you are close to losing it - you knew that right? Forgive me, I don't get irony most of the time... *g* Who will get tortured? Uhm, I really can't tell you that since it's not written yet, but I think it's safe to assume that everybody will get his fair share of owies. Elves go to the Halls of Mandos when they die, which is on the western coast of Aman, I think. Yes, I think it was far behind the Pelóri somewhere.. *shrugs* In short, in Valinor.
Critternut - *nods* Right, the whole torture bit was punishment for his stupidity earlier. I'm afraid he wasn't drunk, but that would have been a pretty good excuse... *g* It always is very hard for me to torture anybody, I can't watch what I'm doing to them, it's horrible. But about Legolas ... let's just say that he might get his share of torture later ... might, mind you! It's a possibility, that's all I'm saying...
NaughtyNat - Danke, gut geht's! *g* Your attempt wasn't pathetic, it was correct, well there was only that little apostrophe you forgot. It's "geht's", because it's short for "geht es". Well, I doubt that you wanted to know that, so I'll shut up now. We're all insane, don't worry about that. Aragorn is my favourite character as well and I WRITE the torture! What does that make me? *g*
Imbefaniel - Well, as long as you don't shoot someone by accident, that's okay, isn't it? LOL, I think a pink leash would be perfect! Adn of course _I_ will hold it! *g* I am the mistress of this fic, but then again, it was your idea... *g*
Jennifer - What happens next ...yes, that's a good question ... read on and you shall see! *g* Thanks for the review, they always help me a lot!
ManuKu - Tja, wenn dir das mit dem regelmaessig posten nicht gefaellt, dann kann ich es ja aendern? Ich geh' nur schnell und sag' den anderen Bescheid, okay? *g* LOL, ich kann mir wunderbar vorstellen, wie Elrond Aragorn den 'look' beibringt... *g* 'Stupid stupid stupid' ist eine ziemlich gute Beschreibung, wenn ich's mir mal genau ueberlege... *G* Also gefiel dir der Cliffy? Das freut doch, und ich muss zugeben, dass ich wirklich ziemlich stolz auf ihn bin. Ja, Lomar ist der ortsansaeesige Fiesling, aber die naechsten warten schon in 'ner Schlange vor der Tuer... *g* 'Eine ordentliche Portion Nili'? Uhm, das ist doch ein nettes Kompliment - andererseits hoert es sich auch leicht kannibalistisch an... *g* Also, bitte nicht anknabbern!
Arwen-Evenstar - Yeah well, I want him to live, don't I? I mean, Elrond is on the other side of the Misty Mountains, so he can't get hurt too badly... And I agree, Legolas is quite a mother hen - but then again, just imagine having to return to Rivendell to tell his familiy that he is dead... *shudders* No, I'd rather not, thank you, *g* Thanks for all the reviews!
LeggyLover03 - *blinks* You wnat him to suffer even more? You are bloodthirsty, woman, you really are! I hate to disappoint you thought, but Aragorn isn't returning to Rivendell this story. I don't think he will get there next story either... So, no Elrond in the near future. Sorry. *g*
Marbienl - *nods* Yeah, I like the comfort better, actually, the hurt is always so ... painful? I know, I know, d'oh, but this is the only thing I can think of to describe it. LOL, a 'blubbering, doubly traumatized puddle'? That's an interesting way of putting it, really... *blinks* Your Anca really likes Legoals, huh? *reads rest of review* What is wrong with you guys? You're far worse than me, really! I mean, you want him to call for Legolas and stuff, you are just so EVIL! But you're right, I could certainly imagine beating up Glorfindel for a change... *g* "It's not his fault he's stubborn – it's Elrond's!" LOL, so true, my friend! And don't worry, we will indeed have some Estel comfort! Thanks for the - once again - huge and long review!
Cestari - Well, then you're lucky! Just Imagine I had posted this chapter a month ago, then you would have had to wait to read it - not that you would've done that anyway... *g* Well, I think I will watch "Pirates of the Carribean", but not really because of Orlando Bloom, more like because of Johnny Depp. I love Johnny Depp and I don't really like Orlando Bloom that much... *g*
CrazyLOTRfan - Why did I do that? Uhm, because I'm evil and mean and evil and did I mention evil? And because I COULD?? Mhahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* Oh... *face falls* The Canadians don't want a Nili Day? Funny, neither do the Germans - why is that? I have no idea, it would be sooo much fun!
Alilacia - You gave blood? Good girl! I always wanted to do that as well, but I'm afraid of needles... *shakes head* Really, you should know me better than that! I mean, come on, I always let them get rescued just in the nick of time, don't I? *watches her jump around* You want Celylith to get hurt? Don't let Zam hear that! But he will get hurt, I'm afraid, I don't know yet what exactly will happen to him, but something will... *evil grin*
XsilicaX - Yes, he is! Well, perhaps you are right though, he looks more like a mentally retarded badger - it's the teeth... *g* Glad you're back, really, and I was being serious when I said that I missed you! Really! *huggels Cathy*
TigerLily713 - *g* Thanks! I am doing my best, but somtimes I have my problems with expressions and I think some of the sentences just sound awkward... h well, whatever. Thanks for all your lovely reviews!
Aron - Wow, then you were away a rather long time! About a month, right? I hope you had lots of fun! Great you like it so much, but I don't feel sorry for Lomar at all! He is just an idiot - although I have to admit that I had lots of fun writing him ... hmm, what does that make me? Don't tell me, evil and sick, I know... *g* Pretty please with a cherry on top? Who coud resist that? Here's the next bit!
Alisha - *sternly* And sorry you should be! But I have to admit it's a rather good excuse, and it's not as if it hadn't happened to me too, so: Yes, I will forgive you! Behold my kind heart! *g* No, really, it's okay. *g* Quite a lot of people liked that quote, and I assure you I wrote that knowing full well what that would make _me_ then: More than sick, actually. Glad you liked the steam bit though! *blinks* You thought it sweet when Aragorn remembered his encounter with Donyc&Co.? I thought it to be sad, but okay, if you think so... *g* *almost chockes on her Diet Coke with Lemon - you gotta love this stuff!* "Probably scare me enough to kill me" Uhm, what can I say? Huh, that's scary, _you're_ scary, that's what you are... *g* And I should catch Celylith in a net and stal his DNA? That's an interesting idea! *grabs net* See you later! And that's the reason why you put puppies on a leash, girl! Really... *runs off to get herself some elf DNA*
Sue - *blushes* Thank you! Great you like it! But I resent the wicked, it's evil! That's what it is, evil! _I_ am evil! Mhahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* And I don't 'endlessly' inflict pain upon them! Really, that's not fair! It's only a little bit of torture one in a while, that's all... *evil grin* And since we can't have you fall off your seat: Here's the next bit! Thanks for de-lurking, reviews really help me a lot! Plus I am addicted to them, but that's another story...
One15 - *g* Danke! Da gibt man sich doch Muehe! *stellt sich vor, wie One vor Neugier vorm PC platzt* Uhm, interessante Idee... *kicher* Natuerlich willst du mich nicht unter Druck setzen, schon klar! *g* Hier ist schon der naechste Teil, animiert von dir und deinen Cheerleadern! Yay!
Halo - Wohoo!!! Halo's back! I missed you and had thought something had happened to you, but then Cathy or someone else told me that you were away. *glomps right back* I missed you too! I have to agree with your assessments though: The baddies are in a whole lot of trouble, preciousss.... *evil grin*
Maranwe - Oh, please do! I LOVE death threats! I know that I'm insane, don't tell me... *g* You stayed up till 6 in the morning to read this story? Wow, I'm impressed! Thanks! *g* Next chapter's here! Thank you for the review!
TheGoddessAthena - Oh, the Goddess of Wisdom, huh? Do you have an owl? *g* But ... but ... *stammers* ... I _like_ cliffies! They are SO MUCH fun! And _I_ didn't turn Aragorn into a lobster, that was Lomar. And he did act on orders from my alter ego, I had nothing to do with that! Really! *g* Thanks for reviewing!
Reginabean - I wouldn't say that I torture readers with the cliffies, that's the wrong word. It's more like teasing or something... *g* I hope you're not _too_ busy with your summer job, thanks for reviewing anyway!

Okay, I'm off to the cinema now. We will either watch "The Hulk" or "Bruce Almighty". It's kind of like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, huh? Anyway, thanks for all your wonderful reviews! And since I haven't hugged you last chapter, I will now! Thanks! *huggles reviewers*