At the sight of the prone human, Legolas gasped and tried to get out of the orc's grasp, intent on reaching his friend.
"Friends of yours, elf?" the orc leader sneered, standing before the Prince.
Legolas glared at him, saying nothing.
"What have we here?" said the orc in a mocking voice, reaching out for Legolas' broken arm. "You should not be wandering injured and alone, elf, there are dangerous things in the woods!"
Laughter echoed through the group of easily-amused creatures.
The orc smiled menacingly at Legolas, before suddenly punching his broken arm.
Legolas cried out in pain, as agony shot up and down his arm from shoulder to fingertips.
Elrohir jumped to his feet, while Elladan restrained Aragorn from doing the same; they had to continue with their ruse, despite what the orcs did to Legolas.
Aragorn was relieved that he was facing his friend. At least this way he could see what was happening, while continuing to pretend that he was ill.
"Sit!" the orc yelled to Elrohir, taking Legolas' own knife from the orc that had confiscated it, and holding it to Legolas' throat. "Sit, or your friend dies!"
Elrohir quickly dropped to the ground.
The orc looked back at Legolas. "How did we not encounter you earlier? Did you hide when we attacked your friends?"
Legolas glared angrily. "Never!"
"But yet, you were absent," said the orc, fingering the knife. Without another word, he swiped it at the blond-haired elf, slashing the shoulder on his bad arm.
Legolas bit his lip to avoid groaning.
Aragorn, from his position on the ground, closed his eyes in sorrow. Why did the orcs enjoying preying on the weak?
"You need some manners, elf," said the orc. With that, he punched him in the eye.
Legolas stumbled back with the impact, but the orc still holding onto his good arm kept him upright. Trying to pull his arm free, he looked up at the orc leader, defiantly.
The creature didn't like the look on his face, and hit him again.
Legolas closed his eyes as pain flared through him, but straightened again with another glare aimed at his foe.
The orc grew more angry, and gave a wild yell as he aimed a punch at the elf's head this time.
Legolas saw stars and felt his legs buckle beneath him. He felt himself being dragged, and gasped when his body impacted with the hard earth.
Hands touched him, and he dimly heard the twin's voices, along with Aragorn's.
"Estel?" he whispered, trying to open his eyes.
"Hush, mellon-nin!" Aragorn whispered. "Let them think you unconscious."
Legolas succeeded in opening his eyes, and saw Aragorn still lying on the ground beside him. "You are hurt…" he whispered, re-closing his eyes.
"No," Aragorn replied. "It was a ruse to get the orcs to halt our journey so that the elves could catch up with us." He shot a glance at Elrohir, who had obviously somehow got the information from the trees wrong. "Rest, while you have the chance."
Legolas sighed, not knowing how rest could be achieved with such excruciating pain in his arm.
Elladan looked around. "Could we have some water?!" he yelled.
An orc laughed at him. "No!"
Elladan sighed loudly. "They'll recover faster with it!"
The orc leader, wanting to move on as soon as possible, saw the truth in his words. "Give it to them."
An orc threw a waterskin towards them, and Elladan managed to catch it. "Here, Legolas," he said, knowing that the injured elf needed it more.
Legolas opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but Elrohir stopped him, gently propping him up high enough to drink.
The water tasted wonderful, and Legolas nearly drank half of the skin's contents before he realized it and quickly stopped.
"How did you get these cuts?" Elrohir asked, gesturing to Legolas' face as he laid his friend back down.
Legolas groaned at the memory, and slung his good arm over his eyes. "You won't believe me if I tell you."
Aragorn frowned. "What happened?"
Legolas removed his arm, reopening his eyes. He suddenly realized that it had finally stopped raining. "A storm arose, and lightning struck a tree beside me."
The twins' eyebrows shot up in unison. It would've been a humorous sight had the conversation been a happy one.
"The tree fell," Legolas continued. "I was unable to outrun it."
Everyone was quiet for a minute, speechless.
Legolas was the one to break the silence. "Do not ever take me camping again."
The others saw the smile on his face, and gave him a sad smile in return.
"Legolas!" Aragorn suddenly exclaimed. "How fares your other injury?"
Legolas knew that he meant the week-old stab wound. "It is fine, mellon-nin. Worry not for it," he said, closing his eyes.
Seeing that the elf-prince intended to rest, everyone remained quiet.
The orcs didn't, however, seemingly making as much noise as possible, but somehow, Legolas slept. It was something that worried the twins and Aragorn, as it showed the frail state of the elf's health…especially since Legolas' eyes were once again closed…