A/N Have you noticed that I have made the chapters to this fic longer? I am trying to keep you guys happy!

A/N2 I heard that none of you got alerts for the previous chapters. I hope you remember to go back and read it. Otherwise, this one won't make too much sense.

Chapter 5: Bree

Legolas woke the next morning and walked down to breakfast. He felt much better from the long hours of sleep he had gotten the night before. He sat down next to Elladan and smiled at the twin. Elrohir was on Elladan's other side and he greeted the younger twin.

Elladan passed some bread to Legolas. "Take a horse with you, Legolas. There is no reason for you to walk to Bree."

Legolas nodded. "If it is alright I would like to take Estel's horse."

Elrohir shrugged. "That should not be a problem. The mare needs to stretch her legs. Estel has not ridden her in weeks and I think the stable hands are getting tired of her disgruntled noises."

Legolas chuckled. "How long should it take me to reach Bree on horseback?"

Elladan thought for a moment. "Well, I guess if you are going to gait it should take you two days. It really depends on how fast you would like to go."

Legolas nodded. "It only took me three days to get here on foot."

"Aye, but that was because you did not sleep and ran most of the way, Thranduilion," Lord Elrond said to Legolas from his chair.

Legolas blushed. "I thought you would want the information, my lord."

The twins snickered but quieted under their father's glare.

"Yes, thank you for getting here so quickly. Next time, take your time to rest," Elrond chided the young prince.

Legolas nodded. "Yes, my lord. I am sorry."

Elrond chuckled. "No need to apologize, young one."

Legolas smiled and quickly finished his meal. The twins finished close behind him and the three excused themselves from the tables.

"I would like to ride with you until Imladris' borders," Legolas told them.

The twins smiled and nodded.

"We will meet you in the stables. We just have to get our items for travel," Elrohir said.

Elladan nodded. "Yes, we will meet you in the stables."

"Alright." Legolas walked to his room and retrieved his things. In ten minutes he was down in the stables and leading Estel's horse out of her stall.

The twins walked inside the stables and led their horses out of their stalls.

Legolas mounted the mare and nudged her into a walk. He heard the sound of hoof beats behind him and soon the twins pulled up on either side of him. "How long will it take you to find the Rangers?"

Elrohir shook his head. "We do not know. We know where they are; it is just a matter of getting there."

"We will probably go with the Rangers to Fleniar. It would be nice if we could stop them from catching northerners and selling them as slaves. We cannot abolish the slave trade, but we can help stop it," Elladan added.

Legolas nodded. "What if the slaves have already been sold?"

Elrohir sighed. "Then we cannot do anything. We might be able to free the ones who have yet to be sold, but we cannot interfere with the sold slaves. Of course we will try to free them," Elrohir added quickly.

Legolas nodded. He didn't like slavery. He had never seen how it helped; he thought it was immoral to make people work like they were animals. While he was lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed how far they had gone. He shook his head when he heard someone speaking.

"This is where we part, Legolas," Elladan said, drawing Legolas out of his thoughts.

Legolas nodded and clapped the two on their wrists. "Travel swiftly."

They smiled at him and echoed him,

Legolas looked at the two concerned faces. He knew what there were about to ask. "I will be sure to look after your brother. I promise he will return to you."

They relaxed.

"Do not get hurt in the process, Legolas. You are our friend; we do not want you to be injured," Elrohir said to him.

Elladan nodded. "Stay out of trouble."

Legolas grinned and waved goodbye. "I will see you in a month or two!"

The three waved and went their separate ways; Legolas towards Bree and the twins into the wilds.

Aragorn pushed himself out of bed and quickly changed his clothes. He had been acting as bodyguard to the spoiled noble girl for the last three weeks. In his opinion she was nothing more than a problem. He didn't know why she needed a bodyguard since everyone seemed to avoid her. He checked to make sure his lock picks were still under his pillow. He was close to finishing them, but he still needed a week or two to make enough. He couldn't be sure if they would break, or how many doors there were that he would need to unlock. Since his room had no windows he couldn't escape that way.

He opened the door to the room and walked silently to the upper halls where the lord slept. Aragorn had learned that Lord Nelkoo's wife had died giving birth to Linari and that the girl was his prize. Aragorn had to admit that the girl was beautiful. She was only one year younger than Aragorn with long black hair and dark brown eyes. She had a full lower lip and a delicate nose. She had tanned skin and knew exactly how to show off her beauty.

Aragorn almost groaned when he reached her chambers. He was not looking forward to spending another day with the girl. She wasn't cruel, just annoying and spoiled. He knew that she had been married and was now pregnant but he didn't know what had happened to her husband. Aragorn figured that he had died, but he couldn't be sure.

He knocked on the door to her bedroom and cast his eyes to the floor while he waited for her to emerge. He held in a sigh when the door opened and Linari walked from the room.

Linari was wearing a green dress that showed her full breasts and would make most men fall at her feet. She walked out of the room fanning herself as though she were dreadfully hot. "Estel, I would like to go for a ride today," she said haughtily.

Aragorn had to keep from rolling his eyes at the sound of her voice. "Yes, your ladyship."

"You can ride a horse can't you?" she asked.

"Yes, your ladyship," he replied. Aragorn wanted to wring her pretty little neck. Normally he had great respect for women, but this one really irked him.

"Take me to the stables!" she commanded.

Aragorn sighed and walked Linari to the stables; this was going to be a long day and he knew it. He knew that when he took Linari for her ride he would only return to another torture session. Lord Nelkoo had heard from his guards that the new slave didn't scream as readily as the others and had now taken to torturing Aragorn himself. Aragorn decided that he preferred the sessions with Plos and Bulon better since they weren't so cruel.

"Hurry, Estel! I do want to return before midday!" she called to him.

Legolas had arrived in Bree a week ago and had found no sign of Aragorn. He thought that perhaps his friend had left but he didn't know where to start looking. He had gotten used to dressing like a human and he didn't mind disguising himself as much as he had before. Today Legolas had decided that he would go to the Prancing Pony in the evening to see if he could over hear anything about his friend.

When the sun started to set he walked towards the inn, making sure that he kept his stride like that of a human. He held his breath when he entered and quickly moved towards the table he and Aragorn had sat at over a month ago.

"What'll it be darlin'?" asked the busty woman.

"House brew," Legolas ordered, keeping his voice lower than normal.

The woman nodded and hurried off to get what he had asked for.

Legolas looked around and saw the same few men he and Aragorn had seen before. He sharpened his ears and looked at their mouths.

"Yeah, the Ranger fetched a pretty price," the tall man said.

"They liked the look of him. Said he had a good, healthy body," the balding man said.

"Strider wasn't too happy, of course. After being free your whole life, becoming a slave isn't much fun," a short man added.

"Where'd you sell him?" a fat man asked.

"Lord Nelkoo wanted him. Said he'd be fun to break and would be the perfect slave and bodyguard for his daughter," the tall man said shrugging.

Legolas tore his eyes away. He had found out what he needed. He knew where his friend had gone, and he wasn't too happy about it. Estel is a slave? I must get to him; otherwise they will break his spirit! He is already fragile since his emotional struggle! Legolas thought to himself.

"House brew." The woman had returned with Legolas' order. She walked away to another table as soon as she had set the ale down.

Legolas didn't touch the stuff; instead he just sat at the table contemplating what he could do. He knew where Lord Nelkoo lived, and he knew how to get there. If he took the horse he would reach the place in one week. He was sure there was a short cut, only he didn't know it. Legolas sighed; this was going to be hard. He only hoped his friend wasn't too badly beaten when he reached him.

Aragorn returned to the house with Lady Linari and led her to the dining hall. He left her there and went to receive his beatings.

He hated it! He hated being a slave and he hated having people beating him. If he got too close to the lady, he was whipped, if he was too far away, he was whipped. He was tired of the rules that didn't make much sense. He was tired of being put through a physical pain so bad he wished he could die every time the lash fell on his bruised body.

He missed his family and his old life. It felt as if he had been a slave all of his life. It was getting hard to remember something other than the pain that had been haunting him for the last month. He had to keep reminding himself that soon he would be out of there. Soon he could escape and go home. It was the only thing that gave him hope during the daily torture sessions.

He paused when he reached the door. He could turn and run away, he could refuse to enter the room. He sighed; if he did that, he would be caught and punished even more severely. Aragorn had already attempted to escape and he had ended up with a broken rib that he had bound tightly. Sighing, he entered the room that would take him into hell.

"Ah, Estel. How good of you to join me," Lord Nelkoo said. "I really don't understand why you insist on fighting me. I will win in the long run. I am your master; you must bow down to me." He forced Aragorn into the manacles and stripped him down to his loincloth.

Aragorn hissed in pain at the rough handling. His entire back was covered in bruises upon bruises and welts upon welts. His legs were bruised from stones and his arms from the lash.

Lord Nelkoo picked up one of his favorite lashes and began the long task of beating his slave. He didn't get pleasure out of hurting another person; he just used Aragorn as a way to vent his frustration. His daughter was pregnant and her husband had died. He didn't want to help his beautiful daughter raise her child. He wanted her to get married, but since she was no longer a virgin he doubted anyone would want her. All these frustrations he took out on his slave.

Aragorn felt a sob break from his throat and then it was like the dam had broken loose. He began to scream and tear at the bonds. The pain in his back was so excruciating that he could no longer hold it in. He screamed for what felt like hours before he passed out from the pain. He welcomed the darkness and fled into it, not wanting to ever wake up.

Review Responses

Shadowfaxgal7: Yeah, apparently no one got alerts for the chapter. I wish you all had! I have time for responses, but no one to write to! So sad! Heehee, saved! Hah! That'll be fun for you to read. I have about 8 chapters done so far, but I am working on the rest. I don't know how many it will be, but being 'Safe' is quite far away. I am so happy you enjoyed this! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others!

Elana: Yes, bodyguard. I hope you enjoy. It will be interesting, don't you think? Heehee! I am happy to hear that you are enjoying the fic! I am enjoying writing it.

Catmint: Aww but Faithful Beta I cant help but be cruel. Heehee. I am so happy you are enjoying the fic. You are probably happy that you got to read the 8 chapters I have written so far. Is your mind at ease? Heehee! Smile. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!

Grumpy: Oh yes, don't worry. He is making plans. Let's just hope he lives long enough to carry them out!

Someone Reading: Yes, it has begun. Yes, people can be so horrid. I can't believe they would do something so horrible. People can be so morbid. I am happy you could actually picture everything. I know that is a pretty morbid thing to say, but I am happy to know you are enjoying this fic. I know Legolas is going to be surprised. Poor guy. He has to learn so many things, and they will all probably hurt him. I hope you like this chapter. I tried my best. I hope you like it!!!