Katie's shriek of surprise was cut off short as a hand was clapped over her mouth. The person who had hold of her spun her around and slammed the back of her head against the tree.

He was a man, about forty years old, thin and wiry. His hair was black and matted, as if he hadn't had a bath in days—which, by his smell, Katie could tell he hadn't. A pair of black eyes glinted in his sun-darkened face above his pointed nose. A hard face.

His hand moved from over her mouth, and she filled her lungs to scream, but his forceful, harsh hand clamped onto her throat and squeezed, like steel pincers. Katie choked as her air supply was cut off. Her eyes widened and she clawed uselessly at his smothering grip.

"Don't you make a sound," he growled menacingly, "or you'll wish you was never born."

Katie's vision began to darken at the edges from lack of oxygen and from pure terror. Her captor released her throat. The relief was only temporary; he drew back his arm and punched her twice in the face—hard. Her head rocketed back against the tree and stars blasted across her vision. She fell to her hands and knees, gasping painfully as her balance slowly returned. Her throat felt like it was on fire, and her left cheek wasn't far behind. The brutality of the pummeling had split her cheek open, and the vision in her left eye was frighteningly fuzzy. The pain dazed her for a few moments, and the man roughly shoved her upright and began tying her hands in front of her.

Katie was paralyzed with fear and pain. There was no doubt in her mind that this was one of the bandits who had been kidnapping local people for foreign slave trade. A million thoughts burst through her head. Where were they headed? Could she escape? Would the elves come looking for her? Or rather, when they did, would they find her? How many of these bandits were there? How far was the slave market? How were slaves treated? This man had her alone where there was no one to hear her scream—what was he planning to do with her?

That last thought was the final straw. Her mind seized up and refused to think anything other than, Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…She felt like she was going to be sick; it took all her willpower not to retch.

The man grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet, dragging her swiftly over to his horse. Katie was gasping with fear, and ever breath made her throat burn worse. She could see Serondrych and the twins' horses only a short distance away, and her feet itched to run to one of them, pull herself up, and gallop off. But her captor pulled a knife out of his belt and aimed it at her throat.

"Don't move an inch," he said menacingly, and paced off toward the elves' horses.

But the animals were far too intelligent to be stolen by a stranger. As he approached them, the three horses snorted at him and took off in one accord. Katie bit her lip, then quit as a sharp pain stabbed through it. She had forgotten for a moment that her lip was split.

Angrily, the man marched back toward her and his horse. Picking her up far less gently than Glawar had, he thrust her violently onto the front of the saddle, then mounted up behind her. Putting his arms around her to grip the reins (Katie shuddered) he kicked the horse into a swift walk. She was trapped.

000

Elladan and Elrohir paced silently through the forest after the herd of deer, which they could hear going on before them. Finally, the movement in front of them paused, and the twins followed suit.

Elrohir glanced at his brother and nodded, motioning with his eyes. Elladan nodded back, and they split up, arcing in opposite directions around the standing herd. The spring was far enough advanced that the leaves provided some cover, and the deer were unaware of their presence.

Elrohir crept as close as he could to the herd. Pausing for a moment to listen, he peeked through the branches to see their quarry.

A peaceful scene met his gaze. Four does and three fauns grazed gently in a tiny clearing dappled with golden sunlight. One of the knock-kneed younglings, still wearing his flecked coat, pranced proudly about his mother's legs. She gave him a nudge with her nose.

Elrohir couldn't repress a smile. Glancing across the clearing, he saw Elladan watching the same scene with an identical grin on his face. He caught his brother's eye and shook his head. This herd was not for hunting. They both snuck back the way they had come, so as not to disturb the creatures.

"I suppose Katie will tease us for going so far after the herd and then not hunting them," Elladan said as they drew away from the clearing.

"Think how much worse her reaction would be if we carried a freshly-killed deer into the middle of the picnic!" Elrohir answered, laughing.

Elladan joined in his laughter. They quieted down after a moment and walked in their own thoughts.

After a few minutes, Elladan's head snapped up, and he put out a hand to stop his brother. His head was lifted, listening. Frowning, Elrohir concentrated, and could hear the sound of approaching hoofbeats. But who would be coming down the Great Road from the direction of the Ford?

The two of them paused amongst the trees, watching the road for the horse. When it and its riders came into sight, they both suppressed a gasp of horror.

000

Looking back later, Katie realized she must only have been in the company of the bandit for less than a quarter of an hour, but at the time, it seemed like an eternity.

The cut on her cheek itched, but she dared not move to touch it.

As they rode down the Great Road, Katie in an agony of fear, she suddenly noticed a glint of metal amongst the foliage ahead of them. Peering between the trees, she beheld two faces: Elladan and Elrohir, staring after her with wide eyes.

She moved before she even thought, bringing up her bound fists to punch her captor in the nose, and then threw herself beneath his arm and off the trotting horse and half-stumbled, half-ran to the waiting twins, nearly tripping on her skirt and slipping on the leaf-strewn ground. She had never been so glad to see anyone in her entire life.

000

What the twins saw made Elrohir's blood run cold.

It was a rider—a bandit, no doubt—and before him on the horse was Katie, her hands bound, looking terrified and bedraggled.

The man didn't see them, but Katie did, and with a grunt of effort, she turned and punched the man in the face with both fists, then jumped off of the horse and ran toward them, almost tripping on her long skirts.

The man swore and turned his horse to pursue her, then pulled up short as he saw the twins.

Katie ran to Elrohir and grabbed his arm, hiding behind him. He put one arm out to shield her and drew his sword with the other. Elladan already had an arrow aimed directly at the bandit.

"You will not have her, filth," Elladan spat out, his bowstring creaking with the tension he put on it.

The man knew when he was outnumbered. He turned his horse with another curse and fled.

As his hoofbeats retreated into the forest, Elrohir sheathed his sword and turned to clasp Katie's arms. The girl was shaking and very pale. He put his arms around her and she clung to the front of his tunic.

"I am so sorry, gwethel-nín," he said, his voice rough with emotion.

Elladan strode over, having finally put away his weapons. His face was dark with rage. Elrohir knew that look. It was the look that bespoke a short, dark future for anyone who tried to harm those he held dear.

Elrohir held Katie back and examined her cheek while Elladan pulled out his hunting knife and cut the ropes that bound her hands. Katie rubbed her wrists absently as Elrohir gently turned her face this way and that.

The cut that crossed her cheek looked like it would require a few stitches. Elrohir pulled out his handkerchief and held it over the laceration to try and stop the bleeding. Katie winced. Her left cheek and eye, which were an angry red against her pale skin, were beginning to show signs of bruising and swelling. The kidnapper must have hit her repeatedly in the face. Elrohir felt the anger and regret well up in him and he exchanged a glance with Elladan.

But anger would get them nowhere now, and he fought it down for the moment. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Did he do anything to you?" he asked, fearing the answer.

Katie shook her head. "No, it's just my head and my throat." Her voice trembled as she barely held back tears.

"Your throat?" Elladan exclaimed, and Elrohir gently tipped her chin up, Katie taking over the job of holding the handkerchief to her cheek. Sure enough, her throat displayed red bands where the man's fingers had gripped her.

Elrohir set his jaw and shook his head. "Come. We are returning to Imladris immediately." He slipped his arm around her waist and with the other held her hand tightly and reassuringly. She leaned heavily against him as they set off and he imagined her knees were probably shaking as badly as her hands were.

"We must get back to the horses," Elladan said tightly. Katie shook her head.

"They ran," she managed to rasp. Her voice was clearly suffering from the abuse to her windpipe.

Elrohir shook his head. They must walk back to Imladris, and cross the Ford on foot. Glancing at his brother's expression again, he felt worry gnaw at his heart.

For all the peaceful sunlight, it was a dark day indeed.

TBC

AN: You can thank Neassa for the speed with which I put out this chapter. She got on IM this evening and bugged me until I did. :)

I originally meant Katie's captivity by the bandit to be rather longer, but it somehow ended up this way. Hope nobody minds.

lunelwe: Oh dear, your email address didn't come through. Stupid I guess you're just going to have to email me and I'll reply. My address is on my bio page.

crazycatluver: A good cliffy means you know your readers will come back for more. lol

IwishChan: That's the thing about elves. One moment they seem absolutely ancient, and the next, they're like little kids. The humans of Middle-earth called them "grown-up children". See: Arwen.

Princess Siara: Yup, I've been on point for eight years. Thanks, the performance went fine—for me, anyway. We were on a different kind of floor and some people slipped, but it wasn't a big deal. We were on demi, anyway. Now can I be on your favorite author list? lol

Ravens Destiny: Yes, I try to add a little foreshadowing without being too terribly obvious. :) The butler! lol Actually, I don't know who Dorlarth's replacement was! Never thought of that…

BTW, I've put another link onto my bio page, to some lotr wallpapers I've made, if you wanna check 'em out.

Stay tuned for the next episode, when… Whoops, not tellin'! What, did you think I'd spoil the surprise? Please review!