A too familiar scene greeted Legolas' eyes that morning. Dawn had crept upon the valley an hour before but the soothing warmth of the sun was confined behind the cage of gloomy rain clouds. Mist had settled around the land and so he could barely see the river below them, only the clatter of the rapids booming. The campfire crackled still, lighting up the faces of their captors in a warm hazy glow, their eyes glowing between flickered glances in their direction. His gaze reluctantly fell on Estel again; his face was whiter than the snow upon the mountainside and was stained with sinister streaks of dried blood. Trailing his eyes down the sleeping boy's body, he looked at the wounds Carinyc had inflicted the night before; much to his relief, all but the deep cut in his hip had turned out to be nothing more than scratches. But he had lost a lot of blood and his body was weak, his mind also had lost the will to fight, and that was Legolas' gravest concern.
There was a gentle stirring in his arms and he realised that Estel had awoken. He looked up at the elf, but didn't acknowledge him, and sat up uncomfortably. Grunting with pain, he shifted to face the group of men, too afraid to take his eyes off them. Carinyc smiled at him and he felt his chest tighten. Legolas guided his chin to face him, until he finally returned the elf's gaze. His skin was like ice and sweat glistened on his pale brow.
"How do you fare?" He asked quietly.
His eyes rolled to the side. "I'm so hot." He managed to mumble.
He frowned. The dark-haired youth, who had once been so energetic and full of life, was now so weak he could barely hold his own head upright. He looked at him with hazy, unfocussed eyes, and pushed Legolas' hand away meekly.
"You are ill." He whispered anxiously.
The young human shrugged feebly. "We will soon be dead, so my health is hardly important."
"We are not dead yet." Legolas hissed. "Do not lose hope, little one."
Estel looked at him for a minute, before breaking into a sad smile. "For a split second I believed you, but one glance at our surroundings and my senses returned. What hope is there? I can see none."
"We still draw breath, and that is enough for me to hold onto."
He grimaced, clutching his side. "Then you cling on to false hope." He muttered. "I did not think it would end like this."
"This is not the end." The elf replied firmly.
"I can finally see why you have such distrust in Men." Estel murmured.
Legolas gazed at him in silence, watching as the young human steadied himself against a tree stump, his head bowed limply. His wrists were sore from the restraints that had been removed the day before, and his arms were scratched and streaked with dirt. It was a startling contrast with the form he took on his eleventh birthday; the dark mop of curls that had been plaited neatly that day were now a matted mess, sticky with blood and sweat, and it felt as many years had passed since he had seen the boisterous smile and heard his cheeky giggle and were replaced with blood and dejection. He had grown since then, but now his slim frame was hunched with fear and despair, a stature that did not suit his noble heritage. A raised voice distracted him from his thoughts, and he listened carefully to the sharp whispers of Raenir and the other men.
"…You have tormented them for long enough." He heard one growl, realising it was the normally silent man.
"I have not finished with the boy yet." Carinyc hissed.
"You have had a week to do what you will with him."
"The suspense is what makes it the more enjoyable."
Legolas' heart skipped a beat and glanced warily at his companion, who was so overcome with fever that it was impossible to tell whether he'd heard or not.
"Your toil and games are compromising us. They should have been dead days ago."
"We are only having some fun." Raenir sneered.
"Fun? You realise that we are almost certainly being tracked by this foster family of his?" He lowered his voice, but Legolas could still make out their hushed voices.
"We have covered our trail." Grudoc snarled defensively.
"You did, until yesterday. Our footfalls will be clear to anyone who comes across them; the firstborn could follow us with ease. I will not let your appetite for inflicting pain on others jeopardize my orders. More importantly, I have no intention of getting captured. We have abducted two members of royalty, which, as you well know, carries the penalty of death. I have lingered too long, we must rid ourselves of them."
There was a long pause, and only the crackle of their fire made a sound.
"Very well, Donvan." Raenir sighed.
Legolas flinched at the identity of the fourth kidnapper.
Donvan.
Legolas had had his suspicions that it was he. That name was notorious - a famed assassin of almost mythical proportions. Many believed him to be a fable, but those of some wit knew he was a real being. Tales of his murders in the lands of men had reached Mirkwood many years ago; assassinations of the highest orders. Killings, suspected to at his hands had reached as far north as the ancient city of Tharbad, where a prosperous fish merchant had been slain on the Old South Road. Soldiers, rich traders, even royalty had not escaped his sword. Some said he was a defected soldier of Gondor, others thought he hailed from further south. Where he was from was irrelevant to the blond elf. The fact that he would kill a child for a fee was all that mattered. On a couple of occasions the victim had been abducted, so their own circumstances did not shock him. Although it seemed to him that Estel was an easier target than others who had been executed on the spot and so their kidnap appeared a little puzzling.
"Good, if we follow the river south for another mile, the rapids ease off." He explained grimly, snapping Legolas from his thoughts.
"So?" Grudoc raised an eyebrow, his chubby cheeks red and flustered.
"Their bodies will get caught on the rocks here, if we go downstream, it is unlikely their bodies will be found."
Legolas took a deep breath, there was little time, and Estel was in no state to make a run for it. He watched as they loaded up their horses and put out the fire, catching Carinyc's eye, the human smiled and drew his finger across his throat. Remaining straight-faced, he turned his attention to his sick friend; the wound in his hip still bled a little and looked infected.
Grudoc stood over them sternly, hands on hips. "Get up." He ordered flatly.
The fair elf rose quickly and helped Estel up. He stood on his feet unsteadily, clinging onto Legolas for support and rested his head on the elf's chest. He wrapped his slender arms around his battered body, and felt him trembling.
"Move."
Following the flow of the river, they walked in a subdued silence, with even Carinyc holding his tongue from his usual taunts. There was a chill in the air and the four men marched along with their dark cloaks wrapped around them tightly. Legolas glanced at the water, the river still rumbled along quickly, but the rapids were diminishing as it widened. He held on tightly to Estel, his skin now burnt like fire and his steps had become more laboured as the minutes passed. They ground to a halt.
Standing on the riverbank, they watched as all four stood a few feet away, Donvan, who stood a pace ahead, unsheathed his sword, the rasp of the cold steel sent a shiver down Estel's spine. The blond elf felt him snake an arm around his body, his hot clammy forehead burnt against his skin. He was shaking, tears falling from his grey eyes onto Legolas' pale stomach, his breaths becoming shallow and panicked.
"On your knees." Raenir ordered.
They didn't move and Carinyc lashed out, pushing them to the ground. Estel fell weakly in the long grass, wincing as he landed on the lashes that littered his back, Legolas too, dropped to the ground, managing to avoid landing on top of his injured friend, instead settling on his knees, crouching over him. Sinking his head back into the grass, he screwed up his eyes as tightly as possible. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. How had it come to this? He felt sick. He heart thumped so hard it hurt. His head swam so fast it made him dizzy. He was in his father's library, taking cover in the bookshelves from his brothers during a game of 'Hide and Seek'. He could almost hear their laughter.
"I can't tell you how disappointed I am that it has come to this. We were having so much fun together." He heard the cold whisper of his tormentor.
"W-why are you doing this to us?" He asked meekly.
He was met with only laughter. Legolas shoved Carinyc away angrily and pulled the human up onto his knees. Turning to their assassin as he closed in, the blond elf shifted in front of the crying boy.
"He is a child!" He roared. "You are killing an innocent, defenceless little boy! Kill me, spare him, please." He pleaded, though he knew it was in vein. "You showed mercy by helping him treat my wounds, will you not show mercy now?"
Donvan paused, looking down at the pair, his eyes shifting between the two, until finally settling on the elf. "I am showing mercy. Your deaths will be swift and painless." He replied calmly. "I am saving your friend from further torment at the hands of these men."
Taking a deep breath, Legolas nodded. "Let me calm the boy down at least. I do not want him to suffer."
Estel stared up at the elf, eyes wide and bloodshot, screaming with fear, but Legolas avoided his gaze, pulling him into a tight embrace and kissed his forehead. "Peace, my friend. Do not be afraid."
Tbc…
Arwen-evenstar2 – Aah, always nice to be appreciated by Aragorn's wifey, thank you! I hope this chapter hasn't disappointed.
TigerLily713 – I am NOT brutal! Well… *cough* so I am, damn straight! The world needs some brutality, better that I take it out on some fictional (shh) character than the cat, which of course I would never do. Sorry, it's nervous energy, the football kicks of in half an hour!
Midnightwolf3 – Well, I'm an utter wuss when it comes to pain; a papercut can almost bring me to tears! Count yourself lucky. Anyway, you're lucky you're not a cat… (curiosity geddit?) Wow, that was bad Alice….
Grumpy – I don't think accidentally falling on a sword is an appropriate death for them, could be funny though! Oh, and where's the fun in giving them a break? Mwaha- you know how it goes…
Xsilicax – Don't scream! Deep breaths… calm, feel the tranquillity overcome you. Feel better? Look, I haven't hurt him any more! Go find some hope and comfort elsewhere, love, there ain't none here right now. Elrond's havin' a gander elsewhere I'm afraid.
Greenarrow – Aaaaaw, that's really sweet! I hope you're not still stunned, it could cause problems in life… ;-)
Vana E – Wow, what am I supposed to say to that review?! It makes my story look rather feeble! I can safely say that there will be no slash or undertones (unless you count Carinyc's thing for Estel, but that's not really slash, it's just wrong) I like Muse#4 best, he's my kinda guy! Shh… there may be a little more elf torture… but keep that quiet, my sister may hit me repeatedly with the cat if I'm mean to Legless… I'm still stunned by your review, Aargh! I've caught it from Greenarrow!
Alex mistress squirrel – Sorry, I didn't mean to cause shell shock, or any form of stunning! Maybe I should've put some kind of sign up…
Leggylover03 – Dude, don't sit on the edge of your seat, it's uncomfortable and you'll get a ridge on your arse! I think it's pretty safe to say that Elrond will be rather… annoyed by these events. Mmm… angry Hugo Weaving *gets all hot under the collar*
Randomramblings – Err… possible understatement of the year! I like your name by the way…
Arifel – Do something to him? If by that you mean ki- err… look at that – an umm… cloud.
Tithen Min – Oi! Share the medication! It's now raining, but the sun's shining at the same time and its nice and warm! Aaw, I'll have to find a way to make Legless feel included… Mwahahahaha! Damn, your review got me back into the habit of saying that!