Legolas pondered her request for a moment. "Will you try to escape?"

"Eventually." She answered simply, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "But I would probably not need to harm you."

Legolas snorted, in a very unelf-like fashion. "Probably? My dear, you couldn't harm me if I was the one in chains." She simply laughed. He narrowed his eyes at her innocence. "You do not believe me?" More laughter. Frustrated, he stalked over, inches from her face. "Fine." He reached into a drawer, which he had earlier hoped housed a comb, pulling out the little iron key. His reached behind her and they were forced very close. She grinned at him and the key almost slipped from his hand.

Once she was free, she turned him around and brought his hands behind his back. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked, his voice stern.

"Giving you the chance to beat me of course. Did you not remember what you said?" A second too late, he realized he had made a big mistake and he heard the iron click around his wrists. She was smiling at him again, and he tested the bonds on his hands. His eyes focused on her as she began gathering up her cloak and weapons, which had lain on the opposite end of the room. For a moment he was actually afraid when she unsheathed the short sword to inspect it. But she quickly shoved it back into its scabbard and turned grabbed one of the tables. "Now what are you doing?"

"Barricading the door of course."

"Of course," he mimicked. Drat, he thought. Drat, drat, drat. She paid him no heed, dragging over pieces of furniture. Once she had sufficiently drug over everything that was not bolted to the floor, she brushed her hands together and then put them on her hips. After her inspection, she turned to Legolas for approval, who just rolled his eyes.

"Quite effective, don't you think?" She asked.

"Oh yes, I'm sure no one will be able to get in now. Except of course if they use the hatch on the other side of the room." His voice dripped with sarcasm. She blanched. As if on cue, the sound of footsteps and loud voices could be heard overhead. Legolas had a smug grin on his face as she looked around in terror. The sound of the hatch being unlocked seemed usually loud to them both.

Then suddenly, her eyes brightened and she raced over to the ladder. "Oh yessss..." She called, the wood probably muffling none of it. "That's it! Oooo, harder!" For a moment, Legolas thought she was mad, then it dawned on him. His jaw dropped down to his ankles. "Mmmm, yes baby, that's what I like..." There was a bit of silence from the other side, then great gales of laughter. Legolas's eyes were bugging out of his head, he was utterly speechless.

The sound of retreating footsteps was heard above, and the men's laughter stained Legolas pink, right to the pointed tips of his ears. She climbed off the ladder rungs and turned around to face him, smiling happily with herself. The elf was still in a mild state of shock. "What did you-"His voice cracked in disbelief and he cleared his throat. "Surely you didn't mean-"

"Of course I did." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. She walked back over to the cot and plopped down, stretching her stout frame across the mattress. Legolas couldn't help but notice that her kilt had ridden up a bit, exposing quite an expanse of leg. It was then that he wished for a candle. The moonlight coming through the small, circular window was veiled by a curtain, but was enough to let them move without bumping into things, but he could have sworn he saw hair on her legs.

He blinked, seeing if it would clear his vision. Then, realizing how stupid that was, tried a different tactic. "So what are you doing here?" His voice was carefully veiled in sweetness.

She looked at him curiously. "I thought that was quite obvious. I was caught."

"Did you misunderstand on purpose, or are you just stupid?"

She grumbled something like "you twit" before tossing an arm over her eyes. "Could you light a candle?" Legolas asked, again using his sweet I-can-get-whatever-I-want-because-I-am-the-most-beautiful-thing-on-Eru's-green-earth voice.

"No."

"Uncover the window a bit?"

"No."

"Get me something to eat?"

"No."

"Get me something to drink?"

"No."

"Say something besides no?"

"No." Then she uncovered her eyes with a dramatic sigh of exasperation. "You are perhaps the most irritating person in the world!" Legolas couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Excuse me? I'm irritating? You are the one that put me in these confounded chains in the first place!"

"You should not have released me."

"Yes, thank you. I'll remember that next time I have a bloody Haradrim she-warrior chained in an otherwise unoccupied room on a blasted ship!"

"Good. Now if you will kindly shut up, I would like to get some proper sleep!"

"Proper sleep?!" Legolas said, baffled. "You are concerned about–"Wack Legolas grunted as something hit him hard in the chest. Stunned for a moment, he looked around for the offending article. It lay on the ground, a few feet from him. "I'm sorry, did you just hit me with a boot?" His voice was calm, unusually curious. Nothing like that had ever happened to him.

"Yes."

"You just hit the Prince of Mirkwood with a boot?"

"No, I just hit an unbearably annoying, egotistical, spoilt, bratty elf with a boot. And that particular elf better watch his words or he'll find the next boot in a more unsavory location." Stuptified, Legolas shut his mouth. He couldn't believe someone was talking to him like this! You just wait until my Ada hears about this!

She had laid back once again, with her arm thrown haphazardly over her face and her other arm thrown wide so that it hung off the edge of the cot. A very ungraceful and distasteful position in his opinion. "So what do you plan to do with me now."

"Well, I am in need of a new doormat."

"I meant immediately."

"Oh," She answered simply. "If you don't shut up and let me sleep, I'll throw you out that little window." He shifted uncomfortably, knowing that she would be one to make good on her threats. When he heard the even breathing that came from the opposite end of the room, a clever idea popped into his head.