Author's note: As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed. It's very
much appreciated.
***
His chest seemed to be on fire. Strange. Shouldn't someone be putting the blaze out? Thoughts drifted vaguely through Legolas' foggy mind. His wrists felt cold though, too cold. Couldn't someone take the cold and put it in his chest?
He breathed deeply, and instantly regretted it. Breathing wasn't meant to be this painful. He shifted slightly, and fire shot through his right leg.
"Stay still," a voice murmured in quiet elvish close to his ear, "I'll not have you undo the hard work Halbarad and I did to put you back together the first time." Legolas realised he was sitting up, leaning against something, or someone. From the voice, he guessed it was a someone.
He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the bright light. It seemed to cut into his brain like a sharp knife, making his mind throb. A mass of blazing colour tore into his sight painfully. His thoughts were fuzzy, drifting around as though through fog. Distant.
Blinking round, his vision cleared, though he almost wished he hadn't. He was in some sort of cart, though it was more like a cage on wheels. Bars were on all four sides and above, and crammed in around him were miserable looking people. In chains.
That was the reason his wrists had felt so cold: metal manacles were clamped around his wrists and ankles, with short stretches of chain between them. Turning his head he saw he had been leaning against Aragorn's shoulder. The man appeared battered, his face a mass of bruises and a narrow tear in his shirt was stain with blood. But he was alive. For some reason Legolas was glad of that.
"Where are we being taken?" Legolas asked.
"We're heading west. It's my guess they're taking us to Rhun," Aragorn replied, "I don't think it would be a good idea for them to know who you are, so you'll forgive me if I don't use your title."
Legolas nodded. The slight movement however made him feel dizzy and disorientated. He had a feeling he must have been struck over the head, but he didn't remember it happening.
The next few days were terrible. They were cramped in the cage, and could see another like the one they were in equally full of slaves. They couldn't even stretch as the chains fastened to their wrists and ankles were also fixed to the bars of the cage. Each evening, when the slavers made camp, they would be allowed out briefly in small groups. They would walk a little and be given a small piece of bread and a little water. Clearly they felt hungry slaves who were less likely to escape were better than well fed ones who might fetch a higher price.
That first evening, Legolas was let out first, while Aragorn remained chained inside the cage. The chains stayed on, meaning he could only walk in shuffling steps. His leg throbbed with pain, but he found he could walk on it easily enough. His chest still hurt, but that didn't limit his movement. If it weren't for the chains and the heavy guard he probably would have tried to escape then.
Clutching his meagre supper he returned with the others to the cage. He watched as Aragorn left the cage along with a couple of other men and one child. Legolas knew little about humans, but he didn't think she could be more than five years old. As the slavers pushed her out the cage she began to wail loudly.
"Shut up!" one of the slavers snapped angrily, but this just caused her to cry louder. "Shut up!" he said again, and raised a hand to strike her. Aragorn quickly seized the girl in his arms, lifting her up.
"Leave her alone," he said, "can't you see she's terrified?"
"You hold your tongue as well, or you'll lose it," the slaver threatened, brandishing a knife, "there are enough people out there with a taste for a mute." Aragorn fell silent, but he continued to glare the man down.
Everyone was watching now. The slaver seemed to grow almost afraid, though Aragorn was in no position to fight. Legolas couldn't see the expression on Aragorn's face, but from the way the slaver was looking at him he was almost glad. The slaver quickly summoned a couple of his friends with a wave of his hand, and they shoved Aragorn firmly back into the cage.
Aragorn let them do it, but he didn't relinquish his hold on the child, now sobbing quietly in his arms and clinging to him. Legolas wasn't quite sure if Aragorn was brave, or merely reckless.
"Where is Mama?" the girl asked.
"I don't know," Aragorn replied softly.
"The men said they'd hurt me."
"They won't, I won't let them."
"Promise?"
"I promise." The girl smiled, and cuddled closer to Aragorn.
"What's your name?" Aragorn asked.
"Lenna."
"I'm Aragorn."
"Agorn?"
"Close enough," Aragorn laughed.
"I'm frightened, Agorn."
"It's all right to be frightened, but I won't let anyone hurt you." Aragorn rocked her slightly, singing gently in elvish. His words were barely more than a whisper, but they soothed the girl into slumber.
Legolas watched, smiling. Aragorn looked up, and caught his gaze.
"Why are you grinning?" he asked.
"I just didn't think you'd make such a good mother," Legolas said, "Agorn."
Aragorn laughed, "I hope Elladan and Elrohir don't find out I've added another name to my collection."
"Your collection?"
"Aragorn, Estel, Strider, the Dunadain, Longshanks, Elessar. The list is almost endless."
"You humans certainly are strange people," Legolas said.
"So are you elves."
Over the next couple of days, Legolas decided that humans were even stranger than he'd thought. The girl, Lenna, seemed to have adopted them. She was a sweet little child, and Legolas couldn't understand how the slavers couldn't see it. Were they so cruel that an infant was to them just a source of income?
The worst thing about the situation was that Lenna couldn't seem to get her mouth round the name Legolas, and he acquired the name Leggy. He prayed constantly to the Valar that no one back home would ever find out, he didn't think his pride would bear it.
"Leggy's got long legs," Lenna announced randomly. She prodded them for emphasis and then began a chant of, "Long legged Leggy, long legged Leggy," prodding his legs with each word. Legolas turned a pleading glance to Aragorn, who was busy trying not to laugh.
"Lenna's got little legs," Aragorn said, "and little hands. I've got big hands, which are good for tickling little people." He began tickling her in the stomach until she shrieked and laughed.
"Silence!" Aragorn ceased at the command of one of the slavers, riding beside the cage with a whip ready in his hand.
"Bad men angry," whispered Lenna.
"Bad men very angry," agreed Aragorn.
"Don't bad men frighten you?" she asked.
"I've seen far scarier things than the bad men," said Legolas.
"Tell me." Lenna looked eagerly up at him, and he found he couldn't refuse.
"Do you like spiders?" Lenna shook her head with a shudder. "Well, where I come from there are very big spiders, big enough to gobble up a little girl like Lenna." Lenna cuddled closer to Aragorn, but her wide eyes told Legolas she still wanted to hear the story. "We go out and we get rid of the spiders, but when I was little, my father told me I wasn't allowed to go. I was too young. I didn't listen, and I went off on my own. When I found the spiders, there were a lot of them, too many for me to handle. I thought I was going to die." Lenna's face, creased with worry and excitement stared up at him.
"What happened then? How did you get away from the nasty spiders?"
"Just then, my father came riding up. His expression was the scariest thing I've ever seen. He was so angry at me for not doing what I was told, that I would have rather faced a thousand spiders than him." He smiled, and Lenna laughed, but then her laugh turned to sadness.
"I don't have a father," she said, "he went away a year ago, and Mama says he can't come back."
"I don't have a father either," Aragorn said. Legolas suspected that Lenna's father was dead, but her mother didn't know how to explain it to such a young child.
Without Lenna, the next few days would probably have been unbearable. Legolas found that keeping the young girl occupied kept his mind from the situation. Unfortunately, she found things about Legolas infinitely more fascinating than his apparently long legs.
"Why are your ears funny?" she asked, fiddling with said ears in a way that made Legolas very uncomfortable.
"Because I'm an elf."
"What's a nelf?"
"An elf is a person, but a different sort of person from you."
"How are nelfs different?"
While Legolas was trying to think of a way of explaining it that wouldn't insult the girl, Aragorn asked, "Do you know any other little girls?"
"Yes. Mayn who lives next to me is a little girl, but she's not like me at all. She's naughty."
"Elves are different from you or me in the same way that Mayn is different from you, but the differences are bigger."
"Are nelves naughty?" Lenna asked, looking at Legolas with suspicion.
"Most aren't," Aragorn said, "but I've known a few who are."
"And who, pray, are they?" Legolas asked in an overly formal tone which emphasised his anger at this insult.
"Elladan and Elrohir of course."
"I don't think Lord Elrond would be pleased to hear his sons described in such a way."
"Why? He's called them far worse himself."
"Who's Lorel. . . Lord Er. . . Who are you talking about?"
"Lord Elrond is a very important elf," Aragorn explained, "he's very old, very powerful and very wise."
"Does he know everything?"
"Most things, he just doesn't know how to make his sons behave properly."
Legolas was quite fond of the little girl after four days of travelling with her. Cramped inside the cage, he and Aragorn took turns in telling stories for her amusement. Then, as the evening of the fourth day drew near, they saw that the road they were travelling approached buildings. They watched in silence as the buildings came closer and formed a town. A high wall, with only a few buildings outside it, hid all but the roofs of the town behind. A strong gate stared menacingly down on the road, and small figures of guards stood over it.
"I think we've arrived."
***
Author's note: Tolkien doesn't say much about Rhun, but since they joined forces with Sauron I'm guessing it's the sort of place that would have slaves. And Aragorn did mention that he'd been there, so I figured I could make a load of stuff up and I wouldn't be contradicting the book.
***
His chest seemed to be on fire. Strange. Shouldn't someone be putting the blaze out? Thoughts drifted vaguely through Legolas' foggy mind. His wrists felt cold though, too cold. Couldn't someone take the cold and put it in his chest?
He breathed deeply, and instantly regretted it. Breathing wasn't meant to be this painful. He shifted slightly, and fire shot through his right leg.
"Stay still," a voice murmured in quiet elvish close to his ear, "I'll not have you undo the hard work Halbarad and I did to put you back together the first time." Legolas realised he was sitting up, leaning against something, or someone. From the voice, he guessed it was a someone.
He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the bright light. It seemed to cut into his brain like a sharp knife, making his mind throb. A mass of blazing colour tore into his sight painfully. His thoughts were fuzzy, drifting around as though through fog. Distant.
Blinking round, his vision cleared, though he almost wished he hadn't. He was in some sort of cart, though it was more like a cage on wheels. Bars were on all four sides and above, and crammed in around him were miserable looking people. In chains.
That was the reason his wrists had felt so cold: metal manacles were clamped around his wrists and ankles, with short stretches of chain between them. Turning his head he saw he had been leaning against Aragorn's shoulder. The man appeared battered, his face a mass of bruises and a narrow tear in his shirt was stain with blood. But he was alive. For some reason Legolas was glad of that.
"Where are we being taken?" Legolas asked.
"We're heading west. It's my guess they're taking us to Rhun," Aragorn replied, "I don't think it would be a good idea for them to know who you are, so you'll forgive me if I don't use your title."
Legolas nodded. The slight movement however made him feel dizzy and disorientated. He had a feeling he must have been struck over the head, but he didn't remember it happening.
The next few days were terrible. They were cramped in the cage, and could see another like the one they were in equally full of slaves. They couldn't even stretch as the chains fastened to their wrists and ankles were also fixed to the bars of the cage. Each evening, when the slavers made camp, they would be allowed out briefly in small groups. They would walk a little and be given a small piece of bread and a little water. Clearly they felt hungry slaves who were less likely to escape were better than well fed ones who might fetch a higher price.
That first evening, Legolas was let out first, while Aragorn remained chained inside the cage. The chains stayed on, meaning he could only walk in shuffling steps. His leg throbbed with pain, but he found he could walk on it easily enough. His chest still hurt, but that didn't limit his movement. If it weren't for the chains and the heavy guard he probably would have tried to escape then.
Clutching his meagre supper he returned with the others to the cage. He watched as Aragorn left the cage along with a couple of other men and one child. Legolas knew little about humans, but he didn't think she could be more than five years old. As the slavers pushed her out the cage she began to wail loudly.
"Shut up!" one of the slavers snapped angrily, but this just caused her to cry louder. "Shut up!" he said again, and raised a hand to strike her. Aragorn quickly seized the girl in his arms, lifting her up.
"Leave her alone," he said, "can't you see she's terrified?"
"You hold your tongue as well, or you'll lose it," the slaver threatened, brandishing a knife, "there are enough people out there with a taste for a mute." Aragorn fell silent, but he continued to glare the man down.
Everyone was watching now. The slaver seemed to grow almost afraid, though Aragorn was in no position to fight. Legolas couldn't see the expression on Aragorn's face, but from the way the slaver was looking at him he was almost glad. The slaver quickly summoned a couple of his friends with a wave of his hand, and they shoved Aragorn firmly back into the cage.
Aragorn let them do it, but he didn't relinquish his hold on the child, now sobbing quietly in his arms and clinging to him. Legolas wasn't quite sure if Aragorn was brave, or merely reckless.
"Where is Mama?" the girl asked.
"I don't know," Aragorn replied softly.
"The men said they'd hurt me."
"They won't, I won't let them."
"Promise?"
"I promise." The girl smiled, and cuddled closer to Aragorn.
"What's your name?" Aragorn asked.
"Lenna."
"I'm Aragorn."
"Agorn?"
"Close enough," Aragorn laughed.
"I'm frightened, Agorn."
"It's all right to be frightened, but I won't let anyone hurt you." Aragorn rocked her slightly, singing gently in elvish. His words were barely more than a whisper, but they soothed the girl into slumber.
Legolas watched, smiling. Aragorn looked up, and caught his gaze.
"Why are you grinning?" he asked.
"I just didn't think you'd make such a good mother," Legolas said, "Agorn."
Aragorn laughed, "I hope Elladan and Elrohir don't find out I've added another name to my collection."
"Your collection?"
"Aragorn, Estel, Strider, the Dunadain, Longshanks, Elessar. The list is almost endless."
"You humans certainly are strange people," Legolas said.
"So are you elves."
Over the next couple of days, Legolas decided that humans were even stranger than he'd thought. The girl, Lenna, seemed to have adopted them. She was a sweet little child, and Legolas couldn't understand how the slavers couldn't see it. Were they so cruel that an infant was to them just a source of income?
The worst thing about the situation was that Lenna couldn't seem to get her mouth round the name Legolas, and he acquired the name Leggy. He prayed constantly to the Valar that no one back home would ever find out, he didn't think his pride would bear it.
"Leggy's got long legs," Lenna announced randomly. She prodded them for emphasis and then began a chant of, "Long legged Leggy, long legged Leggy," prodding his legs with each word. Legolas turned a pleading glance to Aragorn, who was busy trying not to laugh.
"Lenna's got little legs," Aragorn said, "and little hands. I've got big hands, which are good for tickling little people." He began tickling her in the stomach until she shrieked and laughed.
"Silence!" Aragorn ceased at the command of one of the slavers, riding beside the cage with a whip ready in his hand.
"Bad men angry," whispered Lenna.
"Bad men very angry," agreed Aragorn.
"Don't bad men frighten you?" she asked.
"I've seen far scarier things than the bad men," said Legolas.
"Tell me." Lenna looked eagerly up at him, and he found he couldn't refuse.
"Do you like spiders?" Lenna shook her head with a shudder. "Well, where I come from there are very big spiders, big enough to gobble up a little girl like Lenna." Lenna cuddled closer to Aragorn, but her wide eyes told Legolas she still wanted to hear the story. "We go out and we get rid of the spiders, but when I was little, my father told me I wasn't allowed to go. I was too young. I didn't listen, and I went off on my own. When I found the spiders, there were a lot of them, too many for me to handle. I thought I was going to die." Lenna's face, creased with worry and excitement stared up at him.
"What happened then? How did you get away from the nasty spiders?"
"Just then, my father came riding up. His expression was the scariest thing I've ever seen. He was so angry at me for not doing what I was told, that I would have rather faced a thousand spiders than him." He smiled, and Lenna laughed, but then her laugh turned to sadness.
"I don't have a father," she said, "he went away a year ago, and Mama says he can't come back."
"I don't have a father either," Aragorn said. Legolas suspected that Lenna's father was dead, but her mother didn't know how to explain it to such a young child.
Without Lenna, the next few days would probably have been unbearable. Legolas found that keeping the young girl occupied kept his mind from the situation. Unfortunately, she found things about Legolas infinitely more fascinating than his apparently long legs.
"Why are your ears funny?" she asked, fiddling with said ears in a way that made Legolas very uncomfortable.
"Because I'm an elf."
"What's a nelf?"
"An elf is a person, but a different sort of person from you."
"How are nelfs different?"
While Legolas was trying to think of a way of explaining it that wouldn't insult the girl, Aragorn asked, "Do you know any other little girls?"
"Yes. Mayn who lives next to me is a little girl, but she's not like me at all. She's naughty."
"Elves are different from you or me in the same way that Mayn is different from you, but the differences are bigger."
"Are nelves naughty?" Lenna asked, looking at Legolas with suspicion.
"Most aren't," Aragorn said, "but I've known a few who are."
"And who, pray, are they?" Legolas asked in an overly formal tone which emphasised his anger at this insult.
"Elladan and Elrohir of course."
"I don't think Lord Elrond would be pleased to hear his sons described in such a way."
"Why? He's called them far worse himself."
"Who's Lorel. . . Lord Er. . . Who are you talking about?"
"Lord Elrond is a very important elf," Aragorn explained, "he's very old, very powerful and very wise."
"Does he know everything?"
"Most things, he just doesn't know how to make his sons behave properly."
Legolas was quite fond of the little girl after four days of travelling with her. Cramped inside the cage, he and Aragorn took turns in telling stories for her amusement. Then, as the evening of the fourth day drew near, they saw that the road they were travelling approached buildings. They watched in silence as the buildings came closer and formed a town. A high wall, with only a few buildings outside it, hid all but the roofs of the town behind. A strong gate stared menacingly down on the road, and small figures of guards stood over it.
"I think we've arrived."
***
Author's note: Tolkien doesn't say much about Rhun, but since they joined forces with Sauron I'm guessing it's the sort of place that would have slaves. And Aragorn did mention that he'd been there, so I figured I could make a load of stuff up and I wouldn't be contradicting the book.