Into the Labyrinth

Author: Amorous

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: In chapter one.

*Chapter 7: Troubles*

The future King of Gondor took a deep breath and rested his head against the trunk of a large tree. After waiting several long minutes, the amount of patrols had not let up in the least and so they'd settled in for a bit of a longer wait. The young man tilted his head to the side to get a glimpse of Legolas, who crouched beside him. The Elf sat with his hands inside the sleeves of his large overcoat and his arms up on either side of his head, trying to block some of the glimmer that his skin was giving off.

Aragorn's mind began to drift and he thought back to the pub where they'd overheard Rovion and Kenan. The loud noise, the drunk men…he smiled to himself in the darkness as he remembered the old man's drink spilling over his already uncomfortable friend. Then another thought popped into his head, and he leaned over to whisper to the Elf beside him.

"Legolas."

"Yes?"

"Back at the pub, something else was bothering you but you could not tell me. What was it?"

The slightly shimmering form did not answer for a long moment, and Aragorn began to wonder if he'd been heard properly. But then the form shifted and began to reply, slowly.

"I've never done anything quite like this before, that's all. I'm just not used to it."

"Posing as a human?"

"Yes."

"Is that all?"

No answer.

"Legolas." Aragorn prompted.

"It is hard for me to say." Came the soft reply. "But my father told me once of a time when he'd done something similar when he was around my age. He was caught and kept prisoner for a long time. He was tortured for weeks. I don't want that to happen to any of us. I suppose the thought frightens me a bit."

Aragorn didn't say anything right away, knowing it was a huge deal for an Elf to say he was afraid. Especially this particular Wood-Elf, who's strong pride often got the best of him. Aragorn wanted to comfort his friend and was about to make an attempt when the sound of footsteps filtered through the trees and into his ears. He glanced at Legolas and found the Elf already looking in the direction of the noise. Their eyes met and Legolas nodded his head as though to say that this guard was treading the path that was closest to their position. Legolas lowered his head again, this time bringing his knees up as well.

The footsteps slowly and steadily became louder. Aragorn strained his eyes and caught a glimpse of a man through the dark trees coming their way. The man suddenly stopped, looking directly at them. Surprised, Aragorn looked beside him and saw what the guard was looking at. Legolas' head was down, but his neck was slightly exposed, sending off a crescent of bluish light. Aragorn quickly covered the spot with his arm. The guard tilted his head and took a step forward as though unsure of what he'd seen.

"Eh, Vin?" The guard called lightly over his shoulder. Legolas tensed under Aragorn's arm.

"Yeah?" Came a nearby answer.

"Come here."

The other man was there in a matter of seconds. "What is it?" Asked the second silhouette.

"I think I saw something in those trees there. I just want to check it out." The two forms moved forward slowly.

Aragorn leaned down so that the Elf beside him could hear. "We have to run." He stated simply. Legolas nodded and they slowly rose from their crouch, taking several cautious steps back. But Legolas could not keep his entire head covered in this position and still see where he was going. Soon the first guard was pointing.

"You see that?!"

"Come on!" They went charging into the woods. Aragorn and Legolas turned and ran full out in the other direction. Aragorn let Legolas go in front of him and tried to block some of the glow, but he already knew it wouldn't be much use. He felt branches hitting his arms in the dark and leaves slapping at his face. The guards were close behind them, calling out for others in the area.

Legolas leaped over a rotting log into the middle of a path and found a guard waiting there. The sturdy man looked ready to make a grab, but at the sight of Legolas' simmering skin his eyes widened and his step faltered. Legolas used the moment and his own momentum to drive his shoulder into the man's midsection and knock him aside.

The Prince decided that using the paths would not be a good idea and so crossed into the woods on the other side. He heard Aragorn behind him and the guards following closely, still calling for reinforcements. Legolas put on the speed as he began to see black shapes tearing through the woods on their right. He veered to the left and was trying figure how they might lose these men when he began to make out an orange light in the forest ahead. A feeling of dread filled him as he realized it was The Labyrinth. The guards were herding them to where their comrades were waiting.

"Aragorn!" Thought's were running through the Elf's mind now and they needed a plan quickly.

"I see it!" The young human was running now beside him. "Perhaps we can run past it and lose them in the forest beyond!"

Legolas agreed that it was their only chance and they kept their pace, only changing direction slightly. The orange light steadily moved to their left and they could now see the clearing and the building through the trees. The crashing of the men behind them died away, and the friends gave each other a puzzled glance. Then out of the trees directly in front of them came charging a dozen new guards, all wielding drawn swords. They seemed unwilling to attack initially, but made it clear that they would have no problem in doing so should the two friends try to get by. A similar wall of guards could be seen making their way forward on their right.

Legolas laid a hand on Aragorn's arm and they began to back away towards The Labyrinth. He did not want to fight or kill any of these men if it was at all possible to avoid it. The men in green advanced and Legolas felt as though butterflies had awakened in his stomach. They broke through the trees into the clearing and the butterflies turned to eagles as he saw that the perimeter was heavily lined with men at the ready.

Aragorn looked at the Elf with a sudden determination. "We'll have to fight our way out now."

**

Elrohir sidestepped as the door to a bar swung open and a drunk man was shoved out into the street. The man giggled as he wobbled to his feet, then hiccuped and fell over again. He crawled a few feet and then threw up in the middle of the road.

"Lovely." Elladan commented with distaste and walked in a wide circle around the man to get to the door. His twin brother followed closely behind and then came Isorfinduil, still staring at the drunk man with a mixture of pity and disgust.

Inside, the crowd seemed better, but only slightly. No one gave them a glance, so the three Elves in disguise stood against the wall and they searched the room with their eyes. Not seeing them right away, Elladan left the wall with out a word and strode up to the bar.

"Excuse me." He called over the noise to the back of the turned bartender. "Excuse me, I'm looking for some friends of mine..." He repeated, tapping the burly bartender on the back to get his attention. Elrohir and Isorfinduil watched him closely from their place near the door. Isorfinduil could now only tell the brothers apart because Elrohir wore a turban similar to his own, and on Elladan's head was a black knit hat.

The bartender turned and narrowed his eyes at Elladan. "What'll it be?"

"I'm not here for a drink."

"Then you want a room? I'm not the guy you want, son. You'll have to talk to that other man, you see him over there?" The man replied, pointing across the room. He laid a large hand on Elladan's shoulder to direct him away, but the dark-haired Elf shook off the man's grip.

"No, I don't need a room either."

A bearded man from a table nearby glanced up at Elladan and then elbowed his buddies and nodded toward the Elf with a smile.

"Then what do you want, kid? I have paying customers here that won't appreciate delayed service." The bartender retorted, his friendliness seeming to wear off.

"I'm just looking for a couple of friends of mine."

"What do they look like?"

"One of them has dark hair, around to his shoulders, and is young. Only just in his twenties. The other is…the same age. And was wearing a black hat like mine." Elladan answered, glad that he was finally getting somewhere with this man.

"Son, do you know how many young guys I've seen in here that fit that description?" The bartender shook his head and pushed past Elladan with a tray of mugs in hand.

Elladan stared after him with an air of indignation for a moment before spinning around and finding a large bearded man coming towards him. The Elf, not quite willing to deal with humans at the moment, shouldered past him. The man gave him a little push as he went by and then turned to his friends and muttered, "Pretty boy."

The group burst out laughing and Elladan stopped short. Across the room, Elrohir glanced at Isorfinduil, who just shook his head with a look of vexation. Elrohir whispered in Isorfinduil's ear and then the younger Elf nodded, although reluctantly, and pushed off the wall.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Elladan returned as though he hadn't heard.

"I called you a pretty boy." The bearded man said with laugh.

"Is that so?" The black-hatted Elf replied flatly.

"That it would be."

"I would not throw names around so carelessly, if I were you." Elladan said, not as a threat but as a suggestion.

"If you were me, you'd be sitting here enjoying the look on some half-witted pretty boy's face." The men roared with laughter again and Elladan's anger flared to life. Taking a step forward, he leaned in and pointed his finger at the man's chest. But before he could say a word, Isorfinduil appeared suddenly at his side and laid a hand on Elladan's chest to stop his reply.

"Excuse me for intruding, gentlemen, but -"

"Look, it's another one." The bearded man said with a grin. "This night just gets better and better."

"I think they travel in herds, Jase." Chuckled one of his friends. By now, half of the pub was watching the interaction, some with amusement, others with concern.

"There is a group of men outside searching for you." Isorfinduil stated evenly.

That got their attention. The laughter died away and Jase slowly leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at Isorfinduil.

"What are you talking about?" Jase replied as though testing Isorfinduil's honesty. The other men were glancing sideways at each other.

"Just what I told you. They described your group and asked me if I'd seen you." Isorfinduil answered, ignoring the strange look he was getting from Elladan.

"What did you say?" Jase scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"I said no. I just thought you might like to know."

One of the men rose from his seat. "What if that's Rabo and his boys?"

The men all began talking to each other now, some rising to leave, others glancing nervously at the doorway. His job done, Isorfinduil left them to themselves, and Elladan followed, his temper now sufficiently cooled. Elrohir was waiting at the doorway and hustled them outside.

"What did you do?" Elrohir asked with a musical laugh as they stepped out onto the street. "They looked like they were being hunted!"

"They think they are." Isorfinduil replied with a sly smile.

"Why did you do that?" Elladan broke in, stepping over the drunk man in the street who was now sleeping peacefully.

"You were going to get into trouble." Isorfinduil said distractedly as he looked down at the sleeping man. Then he leaned down and began to drag him out of the middle of the road. "I did not do it for you, I did it because Elrohir asked me to."

"You didn't need to do it at all." Elladan watched him drag the man to the side. Then he turned to Elrohir. "Brother, you have no faith in me?"

"Elladan, I know you can handle yourself. I have seen it many times, but you do have a temper and we can't risk you losing it now. I asked Isorfinduil to get you because it would have only provoked them further if your identical twin showed up."

Elladan nodded in understanding, then a look of worry passed over his usually smooth features. "We have no leads yet on Estel or the Prince."

"We still have many places to look. Although it is growing so late that most will be closed soon anyway." Elrohir replied with concern. He scratched the back of his head a bit where the knot of the head-scarf met his neck.

"Then we must go quickly." Elladan answered immediately.

Isorfinduil finished bunching the man's coat under his head and rose to his feet, looking satisfied. The three Elves turned and began to leave. Then Elladan stopped and pulled a shining coin from his pocket and looked at it for a moment. He flicked it to the side of the road where it came to rest by the sleeping man's head before continuing on his way.

**

First of all, please forgive me for getting this out several weeks late. Finals are brutal, but they're all done now.

Second of all, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I was so happy to get them all.

James – Oh, in your review did you mean "What was Elladan going to say" ? If so…I really don't know what he was going to say. I just needed him to start saying something so Elrohir could cut him off! And I'm glad you like Isor, I've really tried to make him likeable. I know many times original characters get overlooked and I don't want him to be. Hehe, you can't have him cause I've got other stuff planned for him, but…you can borrow him! J Thank you!

Anime Soccer Lobos – Can't think of a nickname…um, ASL? I dunno, just Anime? Oh well. But yes, I've tried to make the names as original but believable as I can, so thank you very much! And yes, Aragorn has the stubbornness that comes with youth. And I thought it would be good if Isor and Lego were friends for a long while, because like you said, there aren't too many stories where an original knows Lego like that. Thank you for the great review!

Key – Wow, thank you so much for all the wonderful things you said! You had me all red and smiling to myself! Isor seems to be growing on several people…yay! But no, the names do not mean anything. I used a name translator or name generator for a few of them, but most of them I made up. Hm…I'm going to see if Isorfinduil means anything. Thanks again for all the great reviews!

Nurnoleiel – Thank you for the encouragement! Yes, Aragorn and Legolas aren't going to have much fun at all. Hehehe, oh well. Thank you!

Trin – If you like action there will be a lot of good action in the next chapter! Glad you like it, thank you for the review!

Thundera Tiger – Thank you so much for your review! I admire your work a lot, so it's great to get a good review from you. The encouragement was wonderful, especially on the characters because I've really tried to make them have their own personalities. Thanks for the advice and comments!!

Again, thank you all so much for the great reviews. They're great - please, keep them coming!

Amorous