Hello! Aren't ya'll so happy! My dad got me a computer that I can write on. Unfortunately it is not hooked up to the Internet. You can't have everything I guess.

Disclaimer: Well, um, I wish. At least those orcs aren't here in the Caribbean.

Much thanks to Anarya for beta reading this chapter for me!

Replies to reviews:

Yes, I know it is at the front this time.

Anarya: Thank you so much for beta reading this story! I needed a beta reader very bad, as you could tell. It was made worse by me being dyslexic. I have decided something, English is much easier to learn as a second language. What is your native language anyway?

Star-Stallion: I read the fanfiction fellowship. Now I only have to read Anarya's story. Hope you are happy with Jack. I'll have Will.

elvendancer: Thanks for the review. It has been overcast all week. But we need the rain, so thats ok.

HecateTriformis: I don't know.

celebrean: Goody, I think I read them. Go you!

A/N: -word- means they are talking in elvish.

Aragorn saw the torch light and heard the voices of several people. From the amount of light the torches made he guessed that there were at least fifty of them. He had already drawn his sword and he tightened his grip. Soon he could see the dark shapes of the people, set off by the torches. The group was apparently looking for something, or someone.

Aragorn hoped that they would not find Legolas and him, but fate was against them and there was a shout from someone as he discovered their presence. The shout was soon cut off when Legolas held a knife to the man's throat. When others came at them with swords drawn, the two knew, beyond what they already had, that these people were enemies. Aragorn and Legolas were quick to dispose of several people, but more kept coming. They didn't seem to want to kill the elf though and they were set on disabling him.

"Are you sure this was such a good idea?" A captain at the back of the room questioned a dark cloaked figure. "We have already lost twenty men. I think that we should just retreat. No man and elf could be worth that much. Especially with the warg attack last month that killed half our men."

"No, master wants the elf. The human is just coming to be food for master's new pet. I believe that the human will also prove useful in taming the elf. From what I've heard, this elf and human are quite close."

"But sir-"

"The master is getting impatent. Tell the men to speed it up and do whatever they can to get them. I don't think master will mind if they have a few scrapes and bruises, as long as you do not kill them or leave any permanent marks on the Elf."

The cloaked figure turned away from the captain and back to the fight, signaling the end of the conversation.

Aragorn was fighting as hard as he could, trying to stay with Legolas, and for the most part succeeding. The men didn't seem to want to kill them, that intrigued Aragorn, but he shuddered at what they might want from them.

Aragorn didn't have time to ponder this though, for more men were pouring in and it seemed they would never stop. Suddenly, a loud voice rang out in a strange language and the men changed tactics. They seemed rougher and Aragorn received a few nicks from a sword. The men now seemed to be routing the two friends to a corner.. Both the man and elf saw what they were doing, but were unable to stop them. Aragorn was blocking a somewhat persistent opponent when he heard Legolas yell, and then he felt a pain in the back of his head and all went black.

Elladan walked slowly back to the camp. He thought about his brothers, how different they were, and yet both had such a large piece of his heart.

The oldest, if only by a few minutes, he felt it was his duty to protect his brothers, and now he had failed. Estel was dead, and Elrohir had been wounded quite bad. Yes, he would survive, but Elladan couldn't help but blame himself for his brother's wound. It had always been that way, it would probably always be that way.

If they survived the death of their brother.

Estel had carved his way into the two brothers' aching hearts shortly after their mother had sailed off to grey havens, and in his special way he had given them hope. Now, where Estel had been there was only another aching hole, joining the one for his mother.

"Why," Elladan sobbed

"Why did you have to take him away! He was the hope of men. Valar! He was my hope." Elladan's voice trailed off.

He could already tell his brother was falling into grief. He always could. When his brother made jokes like he was, it was his way of coping with the sorrow that almost consumed his heart. It had been the same way when Celebrain had left.

Elladan wiped a tear that had escaped his eye and took a deep breath, then he walked the rest of the way back to his brother.

Estel woke up on a hard floor. He opened his eyes as Legolas whispered his name.

-Estel, are you okay?-

-Aye, I have a bad bump on my head though. And you?

 -Fine, I think. The men seemed careful not to hurt me.-

-That's good, if we go home to Ada one more time with one of us carrying the other he is going to lose his head.-

 -I wonder who captured us?-

 -I don't know. Someone is coming, maybe they will tell us.-

True to Legolas' word, Aragorn soon heard heavy footsteps coming their way. Aragorn was tied with his head to the ground and his feet and arms tied together and then to each other, so he was not able to see who they were. Legolas was tied in a similar fashion a few feet away.

The men went first to Legolas, and the young ranger heard a knife cutting through rope, a complaint that they could have used that rope, and someone jerking Legolas up. Then some men came over to him and untied his ropes.

"Get up," one said, jerking him to his feet.

"As if I had a choice," Estel mumbled under his breath.

He soon saw that there were about twenty men in the small cell. Ten were guarding Legolas, and ten Aragorn. The friends both tried to fight but they stopped when Aragorn felt cold steel against his neck.

"Don't move elf, or your friend gets it." Legolas stopped, but there were already several men lying dead or unconscious on the stone floor.

"Carcan, Amarth, you get over and guard him." He said, motioning to Aragorn. "The elf won't try anything or I shall kill the human." The last part was spoken at Legolas.

"Yes sir!" Two burly men came and grabbed Estel's arms.

"Now get going, he is waiting, and you wouldn't want that." The apparent leader pushed Aragorn to get them started. They walked out of the pit they had fallen in, into a tunnel. Legolas was surprised that they were still in the pit after their fight.

About twenty feet into the passageway they passed a door that had already been opened and into another tunnel.

They walked through the passage, the ceilings were low and Aragorn and Legolas, being taller than their captors, had to duck as they started up same rough cut stairs. The stairs were high and it was hard to climb them with ten men surrounding him so close that Aragorn could hardly breathe. They stopped and the leader went to the front, after giving instructions to Carcan to guard Aragorn closely, on threat of death.

The leader opened a door and everyone filed out of the cave. It was still dark, but golden slivers of daylight could be seen coming up in the east. Legolas had no time to admire the sunrise though, the leader had seen him looking around and came up to him.

"Don't even think of escape elf. The moment you try anything your friend shall be dead. Now let's go"

As if for good measure the guard from behind pushed Legolas and although elves have incredible balance, he was caught off guard and fell. Because his arms had been tied behind his back after they had tried to escape Legolas was not able to catch himself and he fell face first into the dirt and ash. The men laughed but Legolas ignored them and got up, wishing he could brake the neck of every one of them.

They trudged along for a long time before they stopped, and then it was just for a few seconds to let the men rest and get a drink of water. Typically, they did not offer ether of their prisoners any. Legolas did not need any and could go on for hours, but Aragorn on the other hand needed a drink. It worried Legolas that in his weakend condition Aragorn's leg would become infected. With all the walking Aragorn was in pain, and although their captors didn't seem to notice it, Legolas could tell Aragorn was having a hard time staying on his feet.

-Are you alright, mellon nin?- Legolas inquired, during a small break when they were able to speak.

-Aye.- Was his friend's only reply.

They had soon passed from the charred and black fire area to a greener, forested area. It seemed they would never stop walking. Legolas missed the forest sounds as they walked through. The trees were even quiet, but when Legolas walked through them they screamed a warning. Legolas realized then that this evil affected the woodland areas terribly.  He tried to tell them that everything would be okay and he would get to the bottom of this, but the guard made him be quiet when he spoke elvish. It seemed to have the same effect on some of these men as the black speech did on elves. Legolas made note of this as he walked along the path.

They came out of the trees and into a clearing. There was something wrong with it though, as if the trees and brush did not want to grow there. The ground was dirt, but it looked like someone had covered it with dead leaves for the purpose of hiding something. Legolas soon found out what that something was when some men removed the leaves and a door was revealed. About half the men went down first, then the prisoners, and the last of their captors followed them.

This tunnel was as dark and damp as the other one, if not more so. The torches barely made a dint in the encroaching gloom, and the light seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness, making it impossible to see far into the cavern. Legolas shivered. Something was not right.

Legolas could see doors lining the sides of the walls now. In some he could see shadows when the light reflected off them. They came to a room where Legolas was pushed inside. He fell to his knees on the floor and they untied him. His freedom was not for long though, for they took him and chained the fair being up to the wall, putting shackles on both his arms and his feet. He expected Aragorn to be thrown in after him, but the ranger wasn't, the men simply closed the wooden door and locked it. Seeing this, Legolas' tried hard to break out, fearing that he would never see his friend again. Although the shackles prevented his escape, Legolas pulled at his chains until he could no longer hear the sound of his friend's boots echoing off the walls.

Aragorn was pushed up the hall to another room. His leg was hurting a lot and he stumbled, earning him a kick from his captors. They pushed him into the cell with a call of "Dinner time!" to whatever was inside. This did not make Aragorn feel any better and as the door shut with an ominous thud, Aragorn readied himself for whatever it was. The room was dark and the light from the door was not enough to see anything. Shadows played with his mind and he thought he saw movement, but after a while he decided it was his imagination. Aragorn wished for his sword. He wondered where the monster was, and if it was sleeping, but that thought was quickly erased from his mind when a dark creature came at him with a roar.

TBC.

Translations:

Ada: Father

Mellon nin: My friend

Please review!!

Namarie,

Astievia