Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: Hey there everyone! Sorry about the delay but real life got in the way, again, as did this site, again. Sighs. Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, I loved them all! A huge thank you to my beta enb2004 who has some fab HP stories that are must reads. As promised, here is Chapter 23. Enjoy!

Elrond had galloped hard for nearly two days without any rest before he had seen any sign of the rescue party. He was relieved to see that the tracks were relatively fresh, so they could not be all that far ahead of him.

Once Elrond caught up with them he would hopefully be able to relieve himself of the anxiety he felt for his sons. He knew that twins should not yet be in danger but the dream he had had about Estel and the twins had left him chilled to the bone. The images of the nightmare that had sent him packing and into the heart of Mirkwood's wilderness still lingered far to clearly in his mind.

As he started to replay the images in his head, he immediately tried to shake them off. Within the heart of Mirkwood was not the place to be dwelling on anything other than the surroundings. Elrond knew that he had to be especially wary, not only from Mirkwood's usual terrors but from Gorothdil as well. He knew that Gorothdil would consider him quite the prize and would most likely kill him along with his sons if he was caught.

As he refocused his attention of the forest, he noticed that everything was silent. No birds were chirping, no spiders crawling through the trees, no animals foul or good at all. The forest was never this silent and it was making Elrond more than a little nervous.

"Daro," he whispered to his horse. Someone was approaching and any noise could give away his position.

It was to Elrond's heartfelt relief however when he saw that the people he had heard approaching was the rescue party that had been sent out only a few days previous. His heart sunk again though when he didn't see Elladan's twin with the rest of the party.

"Elladan! Where is Elrohir?" Elrond asked, urging his horse forward and away from the brush were they had hidden.

"Ada!" Elladan exclaimed.

"Elrond! What in the name of the Valar are you doing here!" Glorfindel exclaimed at the same time.

"Where is Elrohir!" Elrond demanded again.

"Fear not Ada, he is safe and is watching over Estel and Legolas while I rode back to tell the others that we had found Gorothdil's camp," Elladan said.

Elrond's heart sank. "You mean that they have not been rescued yet?"

"I'm afraid not Elrond," Thranduil said sadly. "They are still in that mad elf's clutches."

Elrond frowned grimly. "Then we must reach them soon, very soon. I fear that Elrohir has been captured as well."

"What!" Celeborn exclaimed in dismay.

"That is why I came looking for you. I believe that you will need my healing abilities long before we reach the palace," Elrond said.

Thranduil paled as did Elladan. Just the thought of what condition Estel, Legolas, and Elrohir could be in was horrifying to even contemplate, let alone recognize as fact. Elladan knew better than any of them the fate of his brothers and Legolas. He had seen Estel's wounds and knew that it was a very good thing that their father had shown up. Elladan prayed to the Valar that he was wrong, but his gut instinct told him that his father would be needed all too soon.

"Elladan, you said that you left Elrohir at Gorothdil's camp. Did you actually see your brother and what his condition was?" Elrond asked.

Everyone in the group winced as they exchanged remorseful glances. Elladan had told them of Estel's condition and it did not sound promising at all. The young man would be lucky to come out of this alive let alone without any serious debilitating injuries. None of them wanted to be the one to break it to Elrond just how serious Estel's wounds seemed to be.

Elrond saw their glances and winces as well as their worry. "Tell me," he said.

Elladan sighed. "It did not look good Ada. When I left Elrohir, Gorothdil was whipping Estel and didn't seem like he had any intention of stopping within the near future."

Elrond closed his eyes and tried to force himself to remain calm. He had expected for Estel to be whipped but nothing could have prepared him for the actual reality of the situation.

"It gets worse Elrond," Celeborn said quietly. If they were going to break the bad news to Elrond, they may as well do all of it at once.

Elrond looked at him and motioned for him to continue.

Celeborn took a deep breathe and unconsciously patted his horse in a nervous gesture. "Elladan has told us that Gorothdil has help."

Elrond's eyes narrowed. Only the Valar would be able to savewhomever was helping Gorothdilonce he was through with them! "Who was helping him Elladan," he hissed.

Elladan gulped and resigned himself to telling his father the bad news. "The yrch are helping him Ada."

Elrond's eyes narrowed even further as he thought of his precious Estel in the hands of the yrch as well as Gorothdil. "Then we had better hurry if that is the case," he said with a forced calm that he did not feel on the inside. "Elladan, how close are we to the camp?"

"We are getting quite close. We should probably reach it within the next hour or so, depending upon our pace," Elladan said.

"Then let us delay no longer," Thranduil said as he urged his horse into a fast gallop.

No one needed any urging and quickly took off after the King. They all had the same thoughts though. What if they were too late?

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Legolas and Elrohir were unable to do anything but watch Gorothdil pour the foul concoction down Estel's throat. There was nothing they could do for him until they were able to escape. Valar willing, either Elrond or Himband would have some knowledge of the poison that Gorothdil had administered. If not, well, Legolas did not even want to contemplate that scenario.

Mercifully, after Gorothdil had finished giving Estel the poison, he threw Estel back to his brother and friend. "Have fun with him my little elflings. This dose was far larger and stronger than the last," he said before he walked away.

"That son of an orc," Elrohir hissed as he gently rubbed Estel's back soothingly. "Once I get my hands on him, there will not be enough left to recognize what he was let alone who he was."

"You shall have to wait in line mellon nin," Legolas said trying to smile and not succeeding all that well. "I think that Estel deserves first dibs after all that that monster has done to him."

"I couldn't agree more," Elrohir hissed angrily. If there was anything left of Gorothdil after Estel was through of him, he and Elladan would make sure to take care of the rest. That was of course, if Thranduil and his grandfather didn't kill Gorothdil on first sight.

Estel moaned and buried his head in Elrohir's shoulder, jerking the younger twin out of his thoughts.

"Shh Estel, it will be all right," he murmured.

"No, it won't," Estel cried hoarsely. "I don't want to go through another dose of the poison Ro, not again! It's too strong," he said while crying.

Legolas and Elrohir exchanged broken hearted glances. Estel was not a person prone to crying, even when on deaths door step. To see how Gorothdil had broken Estel was heart breaking and made them all the more angry.

"Shh, with any luck tithen gwador, Elladan and grandfather will be here and will have medicine which will counteract the poison before it can affect you," Elrohir lied. It was far too much to hope for that one of the rescue party would have the specific antidote to the poison which hadn't even been identified yet.

Estel nodded however, willing to cling to any hope no matter how unlikely it may be. "I hope they get here soon," he muttered before falling to sleep's welcoming embrace.

"So do we all Estel," Legolas said as he and Elrohir laid Estel down in the most comfortable way possibly given his injuries. "So do we all."

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It wasn't by their sight that the rescue party knew that they were approaching Gorothdil's hidden camp. No, it was by sound. Even two miles away, they could hear screams and the babbling and disgusting excitement of the yrch. Someone was being tortured and the yrch were reveling in it.

"It could just be the yrch being their disgusting selves," Elladan offered halfheartedly.

"We must hurry," Elrond said as he increased his pace. His heart had told him what his ears could not. The screams belonged to his little Estel and he was being tortured unmercifully.

Just as they were about to start moving again though, the screams suddenly stopped, making everyone's heart leap into their throats until the screaming started anew. For a moment, they had been sure that the person who was screaming had died.

As the group increased their pace once more, they soon came upon the area where Elladan had left Elrohir. "On no," Elladan whispered when his twin didn't appear to greet them with the latest news of what was happening down in the camp.

Celeborn frowned grimly as did Elrond and Thranduil. "I had suspected this," Celeborn admitted. Elrohir is not one to sit around and wait if someone is in need, even if he is vastly outnumbered."

"That idiot! I'll kill him, then bring him back to life, and kill him again for breaking his promise to me," Elladan hissed.

"He probably had a good reason for not listening to you Elladan. You know that Elrohir doesn't break promises easily or without due consideration to the consequences," Celeborn said.

"Perhaps," Elladan said as he scowled down at the hidden camp. "I'm still going to kill him anyway."

"Worry about that later Elladan, right now, let us focus on getting your brothers and my son away from Gorothdil and the yrch," Thranduil said.

"Can any of you see them yet?" Haldir asked as he craned his neck, trying to get a glimpse of the camp.

"No, not yet... Wait! There they are!" Elladan said in a loud whisper to be heard over the loud screaming.

"Hush!" Glorfindel commanded as he saw where Elladan was looking. Gorothdil was not far from where Estel, Legolas, and Elrohir were and could very possibly hear them if they were too loud, even with Estel screaming.

"I can not see them from where I am," Elrond whispered. "What is their condition?"

"It is not good at all mellon nin. Estel seems to be caught in the grips of some sort of nightmare," Glorfindel whispered softly as he watched the young man buck and scream again.

"What of Legolas and Elrohir!" Thranduil exclaimed.

Elladan peered over the edge once more taking in everyone's condition. "They appear to be all right save for a few bumps, bruises, and scratches. There doesn't seem to be any serious injuries thank the Valar."

"Where is Gorothdil and the yrch?" Elrond asked as Elladan and Glorfindel were still blocking his view of the camp.

"They are rather close to Estel and they seem to be watching his nightmare with great pleasure, particularly Gorothdil,"Elladan said, knowing what was coming next. He was not disappointed.

"Then what are we waiting for," the father in Elrond hissed. "Let us go down there and end this once and for all."

"I agree," Thranduil stated vehemently.

"Elrond, Thranduil, you are not thinking clearly. We are but six elves against one other elf and an army of yrch. We do not stand a chance right now. All we would succeed in doing would be to captured and tortured alongside Estel and the others," Celeborn said reasonably.

Elrond and Thranduil visibly deflated as they recognized Celeborn's words as the truth. "Then what are we to do?" Elrond asked.

Haldir and Glorfindel smiled grimly, both having the same thoughts. "We shall wait until nightfall milord's, when we can wreak the most havoc with the least amount of danger to ourselves and the others," Haldir said.

"It is a good plan," Glorfindel said. "We shall have the advantage of knowing their positions ahead of time so we'll be able to shoot, despite the fact that it will be dark."

"It's settled then. How long until sunset?" Elrond asked.

"Not much longer Elrond. In about one and a half hours," Thranduil said.

"Good, we shall wait for the sun to set. With any luck, Gorothdil will do no further harm to our children," Elrond said as he settled himself down to wait.

Luck however was not on their side however, for even as they planned their strategy to rescue Estel, Elrohir, and Legolas, Gorothdil was making plans of his. Plans, that could ruin everything that the rescue party had planned.

Translations:

Ada: Dad/daddy

Ion nin: My son

Mellon nin: My friend

Tithen gwador: Little brother

Daro: Stop