Aragorn looked down from the rocky ledge. He blinked a couple times, sure that his eyes were deceiving him. The young ranger was over looking the land of Anganor. He ran through his memory, trying to work out if he could have gone wrong somewhere, but he knew that this really was where the prince's tracks had led him. This was an unexpected turn of events.
Suddenly, the young mortal got an idea. It would be simple. He was a
mortal,
so there was no need to hide his ears. All Aragorn would need to do,
was
to go down into the human country and find some sort of job at the
royal
castle. That done, surely it would not take him long to find the prince
of
Mirkwood and ...
Aragorn froze. He just realized that this was where his brothers
were heading.
If they had arrived, would they have been taken captive, too? He ran
down
from the ledge, grateful his father had made him study the geography of
all
the countries in the known lands of Middle-Earth.
Two weeks later, Aragorn had been hired as a low-ranking officer in charge of the prisons. Since all the captains had personal slaves, Strider had gone to the market and sought for a strong young man who might be loyal and could aid in a rescue attempt. He found a young lad, not yet grown, named Inziladun. With his compassion, Aragorn soon turned his fear to a fierce loyalty and strong friendship.
During this time, a troop of orcs marched in, dragging a bound elf.
Aragorn
started as he recognized Elrohir. He marked the cell in which his
brother
was imprisoned so as to recognize it later.
Several days later, Aragorn found Legolas. The prince had been brought out from his cell to witness the execution of the elven captain, Ithilion. Legolas' features told their own tale of his stay. He favoured his right leg as he walked, and his face was haunted by grief and pale. Estel found himself drawn to the prince.
Although Aragorn was not present for the execution, he could here it as if he was there. He heard Legolas' heart-broken cry. He also heard Giran's words to the prince, that if his father did not give in within a month or he did not own Giran's lordship over him, the young elf would die. Strider's blood boiled at those words.
Upon Irenon returning Legolas to prison, Aragorn changed the guard and placed himself at the elf's door. If Legolas was to be saved, Aragorn would have to gain his trust and quickly.
