Title: Delw yomenie (Deadly encounter)

Characters: All Peredhils, mainly Strider, Legolas……and something/someone deadly….

Timeline: Before FOTR

Rating: T

Warnings: Cruelty and maniacal behaviour. WIP.

Summery: Our Middle-Earth friends encounter something deadly…..

Feedback: YES! Please! looking-like-little-Estel-when-he-wants-something.

A/N: Many thanks to Trinilee for her fast beta work. Thank you! ;-)

Chapter 12 – Rescued?

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Disclaimer: I own nothing of the works of Tolkien. Neither books, nor movies. I just borrow them and try to give them back in one piece later. I make no money with this story. Please, do not sue me.

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Finally, he had found it. There, before him, in the shadow of huge trees that loomed over the clearing in the darkness, Legolas saw the camp he had searched for these few last days. He could see some of the hunters, sitting by the fire, talking quietly. Tents had been set up and the elf saw that some of them had occupants. The smoke from the fires filled his nose and his ears caught the sounds of voices.

A relieved sigh wanted to escape his lips, but he refrained from doing so. He did not want anybody to hear him and the feeling that something horrid had or would happen soon had not left him. Letting his blue eyes travel over the camp, he counted five men, two patrolling the outer rim of the camp, two sitting by a fire nearby and the last one sitting near one of the tents.

Crouching low in the grass and using the dense green underbrush as covering, the slim archer moved nearer to the camp. He knew that it was risky, but he had searched for so long, he had overcome many obstacles to be where he was now; Legolas could not resist the urge to learn more about the fate of his friends.

The fire that was nearest to him had almost died down completely, grey smoke rising in the sky and obscuring the faces of the two hunters that sat beside it. Red sparks, brought to life by the small wind that was blowing over the scene flew in the air and the glow the fire produced made the faces of the hunters look almost demon-like.

With a stealth that would have made his father very proud of him, Legolas sneaked up on the men, hidden by the brush and the shadow that the dying fire created. The men had obviously not heard him, as they made no outward sign that they had noticed the elf's presence.

Encouraged by this, Legolas pressed his body flat to the cold ground, ignoring the small pain that erupted in his side and directed his concentration to the two men and their whispered conversation before him.

He had to strain his ears to hear the hunters, so low did they speak. But when he heard the men's voices and realized what the two were saying, and what it meant, his heart skipped a beat and then pounded on twice as hard as it had done before.

Holding his breath, the elf shook his head slightly, eyes widened in fear. What he heard could not be true. It was simply not possible. Estel could not be dead!

With trembling hands, Legolas pushed himself further towards the fire, forgetting the pain in his side and the weariness in is body, his human friend the only thought that filled his head. Now only a few feet away from the two humans, hidden by the plants and the darkness of the night, Legolas followed the conversation.

"You real´ think he's dead?"

"Ah, looked like dead when we dumped him, didn't he? And if he wasn't back then, he most certainly will be by now. Didn't look good, that ranger." The speaker, a tall brown haired man, shrugged his shoulders and looked into the fire before him.

"Ye know, I don't care if that scum lives or not. Those rangers are only causing trouble. Worlds better of without them."

His comrade, a little smaller but as brute looking as the other, took a sip from his wine and smiled, reminiscing: "Did you see his face as the captain pulled out the arrow? Ah, it was too good to be true. And then, when he fell into the fire? Wow, that elf got really angry. I would have loved to teach that elf a lesson."

Turning to the smaller man, the other human clapped him on the shoulder: "Hey, your wish may come true. I would eat my boots if Dagnir keeps those creatures. Perhaps we will have our fun with them before this is over."

"You think so?"

"Maybe, why not? That ranger is good for nothing now. You saw him; he did not even stir when we put him in that tent. Bah, his blood is still in my clothes. It will take ages to get rid of it. So, what makes you think he will make it? If I should guess, I'd say the captain will finish him off before we leave for the Misty Mountains. He would only slow us down."

"Perhaps Dagnir allows us a bit of fun with him before he does, I'd love to show that scum how a proper captive should behave. With…"

The man's next words were overshadowed by a loud growl, coming from the sky. The nightly sky had blackened even more, thick clouds hanging deeply. A thunderstorm was approaching.

But this way or the other, Legolas had heard enough. Slowly and soundlessly he went back a ways, then crawled on his hands and knees deeper into the forest. When he was sure that he was out of sight and that neither of the two men had heard him, nor that the other humans that patrolled the area had noticed his presence, the elf stopped and leaned against a tree.

Estel was alive, probably. And it seemed that Elladan and Elrohir, or at least one of the twins, was a hostage, too. His stomach churned as the prince thought back on the remarks that the humans had made about his friend.

The words "arrow", "fire" and "blood" would not leave his mind and the elf felt how his hands trembled even more. Cold sweat had broken out on his body, his legs feeling weak and useless.

He had come too late. These hunters had done Valar knows what to his friend and Estel was seriously hurt, or even worse, dead. The thought of Estel dying alone with his captors was a gruesome one that hurt the elf deep inside.

But what hurt him even more, what made his heart beat faster and his blood rush through his veins was the simple fact that he did not know. He did not know if Estel was still alive, if the twins were here, if they were alright or injured. He simply did not know.

That gruesome thought would not leave him alone. Estel had probably died here, alone and abandoned by his family and friends. Among strangers, died among his own murderers. Shaking his head in the complete darkness, Legolas took a deep breath and steadied his breathing. It would not help him to loose control now.

Glancing at the camp behind him, the blond archer took another deep gulp of air, then closed his eyes and sent a prayer to all the Valar willing to listen and even to those who did not. Opening his eyes again to the darkness around him, the elf turned and headed back to the camp.

It was the only way to learn what had happened. He had to go into the camp and make sure that what the two hunters had said was not true. Legolas would find out what had happened to his friends, even if that meant that he would be killed. For the prince, an eternal life without the three Peredhels would be no life.

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It had been a long day. And an even longer night and Dangir felt the darkness pressing in on him. Normally, he welcomed the dark times of the day. Shadows were his friends and the night the time for hunters. But this night was different.

It had shown him that he had made a mistake regarding the ranger and that he had underestimated him. Dagnir had thought that the ranger would not try anything; it was obvious that he cared for the child and had previously tried to protect the boy. An escape attempt was an uncertain action, unpredictable. The captain had thought the human smarter.

And even more so, not only had his captive tried to escape, the two elves from Rivendell had met him in the forest. These two identical looking beings worried Dagnir more than the ranger did. Where two elves were, more could be.

Inside the leader of the hunters had known that the elves would come to rescue the human, but he had hoped that it would not be so soon.

Dagnir had hoped to be far away when the elves caught up with him, near the Misty Mountains and, hopefully, hidden inside a cave somewhere, where these being would not find him.

As things now stood, this hope had vanished as quickly as snow in summer. The messenger he had sent to Bree would not be back for a few days, the day after tomorrow in the best case.

Dagnir knew that he could not wait so long, under any circumstances. The fact that the two dark haired beings had found the camp, remarkably quickly despite his efforts to distract any pursuers with misleading tracks, meant that other followers would have no problems finding them, too.

When the candle on his table flickered unsteadily, the leader had made up his mind. Turning, he exited his tent and searched for his second in command. Finding Bauglir near the horses, the captain walked up to him. Looking at his captain, Bauglir nodded to him and acknowledged his superior.

The captain stopped before Bauglir, his hair shining white in the little moonlight that was leaking through the heavy clouds, only said two words: "We're leaving." Turning, Dagnir went back to his own tent, leaving his subordinate behind; sure that Bauglir would take the matter in his own hands.

Upon reaching his green and brown tent, the captain threw open the flap, entered and vanished inside, not giving the camp behind him so much as a fleeting look.

If he had done so, he probably would have seen a green shadow moving in the forest, a shower of blond hair trailing behind it as it went.

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The archer was moving through the trees like a ghost in the night. The trees seemed to shelter him and the leaves made no sound when he stepped on them. It seemed that the forest felt his hearts desire and was helping the Woodland being as much as it could.

Legolas rushed from tree to tree, crouching behind bushes and stopping every time he neared one of the guards. He would wait then, while holding his breath and when the man had moved on, the elf would sprint on, making no noise and leaving no trace behind that he had been there.

His objective was the tents at the back of the clearing, the ones near the little stream. In the elf's opinion they were the most likely to keep Estel and the twins. First, because they were the tents furthest from the direction Imladris lay in and secondly, because the human sitting before one of the tents had not moved at all since Legolas had first laid eyes on the camp. That human was most likely guarding something, or rather someone.

Sneaking around the campsite and nearing the tents, Legolas felt like a predator, prowling around its prey, ready to jump at it the second it let its guard down. It made him feel stronger and faster, but it also gave him the feeling that he was strongly outnumbered and inferior, one predator against ten or more hunters?

Reaching the tent that was standing the furthest away from the guarded one, the elf step closer to it and tried to catch a sound, anything that would help him find out who was inside. When he heard nothing but the river behind him, he frowned slightly, and then decided to try the next one before doing anything else.

Another clap of thunder sounded in the night sky, followed soon after by a streak of lightning that lit up the camp for a second, but no rain had fallen yet. The sound of nature drowned his next steps and the elf reached the next tent undetected. Crawling close to the back, Legolas pressed his ear at the fabric of the tent wall, his body sheltered by low hanging branches and the shadows of the night.

What he heard made his heart jump in his throat and his hands became wet with sweat. The twins! He had heard Elrohir, he was sure of that. But, what...was Elrohir sobbing? But there was no mistaking the sound that flowed through the tent wall to the elf's ears. The younger twin had spoken something and then broken down in sobs.

A cold feeling settled in Legolas stomach. Why was Elrohir crying? One of the strongest elves he had met in his life? That the younger twin was giving in to his sorrow and grief could only mean one thing. That one of his brothers was injured or dead, and Elrohir would not start weeping because of some injury.

Swallowing thickly, the blond archer listened more closely at his surrounding and, upon hearing nothing but the muffled sobs of his friend and the flowing river behind him, Legolas reached out, lifted the back of the tent and took a look inside.

He could see the twins, bound to the main tent post, their backs to him. Both elves had their heads bent down, Elrohir's head resting on his brother's shoulder. Else the two elves seemed to be alone.

It lifted the pressure on his heart to some extent to find his friends alive and, it seemed, unharmed. But at the same time a heavy stone had fallen into his stomach. Elrohir had not cried over Elladan. That left only his other brother, Estel.

Pushing the green wall of the tent open wider, Legolas sneaked inside, letting fall the fabric back down to the ground below as soon as he had made it. Without further ado he rushed to the twins' side, falling to his knees beside them and startling them both out of their wits.

Elladan's head flew up, followed instantly by Elrohir's, staring at him as if he was seeing a Ringwraith. He opened his mouth to say something but no sound left his lips. Elrohir, on the other side, found his voice faster: "Legolas, by Elbereth Gilthoniel. What are you doing here?"

"Sh, Elrohir, speak quieter. And what do you think I am doing here?" Legolas could not completely resist the small smile that turned the corners of his lips. The twins had not really believed he would stay in Imladris, had they?

The prince looked both elves from head to foot, searching for blood and torn clothing, anything that would indicate that they were hurt. He had not to search long as both elves showed signs of fighting.

Elladan's shoulder was covered in dried blood and Elrohir had a wound to his head which seemed to have bled recently, as the blood had changed the colour of his brown hair into a muddy red.

The twins, on the other hand, took a good look at their friend, also searching for injuries. When all elves had ended their examination, all three deciding that none of them was hurt seriously, Legolas took out one of his knifes and prepared to untie his friends.

The knife had nearly reached the bonds that wound around the tent post; Elrohir spoke up again, halting the archers hand in mid air: "Legolas, have you seen Estel?"

Legolas swallowed. Letting his hand fall back to his side, he slowly shook his head. No, he had not seen Estel. Not since that fateful night when this nightmare had started. Not knowing how much the twins knew about Estel's condition, although at least one of them had been present when he had been injured, Legolas told them what he had overheard.

He tried to keep his voice steady but was unable to do so. He told them everything, leaving nothing out and not sparing them from anything. When he had finished, he could see the fear in both of their faces, the anguish they felt clearly reflecting in their eyes.

Fighting against the mounting fear he himself felt, Legolas took a shivering breath: "Tell me." And they did. The twins told him everything that had occurred since they had left their home, telling him about the wolves, the tracks and the encounter with Estel and the trap the hunters had set for them.

When they came to the part where Dagnir had pulled the arrow out of the ranger's leg and the way in which the humans had dragged Estel away, Legolas closed his eyes and desperately wished that this was only a nightmare. A horrid dream from which he would awake in the morning and that would drift away like mist in the sunlight.

But he knew that it was no dream. That he would not wake from it. When he would open his eyes again, he would not be at home in his room and his bed, but inside a cold tent, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cruel humans that would kill him without so much as a second thought.

Swallowing, the elf opened his eyes and returned to the nightmare.

All three elves sat in silence for a moment, then the bundle on Elrohir's lap moved and a head appeared, followed by sad blue eyes. Legolas had not even noticed the child before, but the sight of the boy, curled up in the younger twins lap, served to make his heart more miserable. This little one was the cause for all this trouble. It was just for him that he had been injured and Estel had been…

But Legolas felt no anger in his heart, or hatred against the boy. All he felt was sorrow and pain. Smiling at the child although he felt more like crying, he reached out and ran his thumb over the red cheek. Taran eyed him curiously, but then his lip started to tremble and he began to cry vehemently. Tears flowing from his eyes, wetting his cheeks and the little tunic he wore.

Seeing the child weeping and sniffing was more than Legolas was able to bear at that moment. With a hushed voice he reached out and cradled the boy in his arms, pressing him at his chest and whispering soothingly in his ear.

For a long moment the boy continued weeping, and then he leaned his head at the elf's shoulder sniffing and tears still falling heavily. "All will be well, penneth (little one). I promise." Glancing at the child's face, Legolas hugged the boy one last time, and then he sat him back into the younger twin's lap, took up his knife again and proceeded towards the bond to cut the twins loose.

When the blade had touched the first rope, heavy footsteps sounded outside, nearing the tent. With a speed only elves inherited, the blond archer leapt to his feet, sprinted to the back of the tent and then slid out into the darkness.

At the same moment the last strand of his long blond hair had vanished from sight, the tent flap was thrown open. Legolas could hear that a human had entered and he listened closely.

Through the fabric of the tent he could hear the muffled voice of a man.

"Hope you enjoyed your stay. We're leaving. And you two, I fear, will join us for the rest of the trip. You will take the ranger's place."

Fear settled once more into Legolas heart. So they would leave the camp soon and take the twins with them, and Estel?

It seemed Elladan had come to the same conclusion and he heard him ask: "What about the ranger? What will you do to him?"

The prince could almost see the smirk on the humans face as he answered: "You should not concern yourself with him, that scum will not live to see the next day."

Two identical shouts of "NO!" resounded from inside the tent and the next thing the archer heard was the evil laugh of the human. "Well, we will not burden ourselves with a ranger that is as good as dead."

Elladan's angry voice spoke up: "We will."

Legolas had no way to see what was happening inside, but he had no problems imagining the gleeful face of the hunter, playing with his captives and enjoying their obvious pain. The human's voice floated to the elf as another clap of thunder resounded, but Legolas had no problems understanding him.

"You know what? We will play a little game, you two and me. You two take care of the child AND the ranger. If one of the two dies, one of you dies, as easy as that. Deal?"

Silence followed that statement but the twins were fast to overcome their shock. They replied in unison: "Deal."

With that, the human seemed to think that all that was necessary to say was said and Legolas heard him exit the tent. Silently, the archer re-entered and went to the twins' side. Both elves looked shocked and Elladan shook his head softly.

The three needed no words to understand each other. With a stern look, Legolas nodded his head to the twins, then rushed out of the tent once more.

He would make sure that Estel was still alive when the hunters left. And he would make sure that they all stayed alive.

Sneaking though the night, always staying near the forest and not leaving the cover of it, Legolas made his way to the guarded tent. Elladan and Elrohir had confirmed that it was indeed that tent that Estel had been brought to and in which he still was.

The blond archer had no problems reaching the back of the tent as this side seemed unguarded. The humans obviously feared no attack coming from this direction. Waiting until his heart had slowed its pace and listening for any alarming sounds, the elf crouched to the ground, the same way he had done at the twins' tent, and then lifted the fabric.

Inside the tent, everything was pitch black. There was no fire near the tent, as it had been with the tent the twins were kept in, leaving the tent open to darkness and cold. Legolas slipped inside and looked around.

At first, his eyes saw nothing, but then he made out a crumbled form on the floor. Holding his breath, Legolas rushed to the form and kneeled down beside it. His breath caught in his throat and the elf's eyes widened at what he saw.

There before him, crumbled and still, dark and cold, lay his best friend in Middle-Earth. Before him lay Estel, his sworn brother and the first human he had trusted in all his long years.

With trembling fingers and still holding his breath, the prince touched his friend's neck, feeling for a pulse. His breath left him in a shivered sigh. There, under his fingers, he could feel a weak and unsteady pulse.

Estel was alive.

End of chapter 12

Tbc asap…..