Elladan opened his eyes slowly, noticing with a detached sort of amusement that one of the orcs had seen fit to hang a mirror three inches from his face. Hmmm. His hair was messy. And there was a large bruise across one eyebrow. How had that gotten there?

He started to lift his hands to touch his forehead, but was halted as he realized they were bound together in front of him.

Not a mirror then.

"Elrohir?"

His twin cracked a small and rather thin looking smile. "You were expecting someone else?"

"One can always hope." The dark haired elf chuckled softly, but stopped and drew in his breath sharply as a fiery needle of pain stabbed through his shoulder. Glancing down, he could see a rough (and rather dirty) cloth bound tightly around it.

Ah yes. Now everything was coming back.

Worried grey eyes fixed on Elrohir's face. "Estel?"

Elrohir shook his head, his features drawn and pale. "He managed to run, but they sent the wargs after him. Neither have returned yet."

Elldan sighed softly. "Foolish boy. Brave, but foolish. He should have known we had no intention of staying in captivity. This makes everything much more…difficult."

"Aye." Elrohir shot a concerned look at his twin. "How does your shoulder feel?"

"It feels as though it has had a narrow shaft of wood topped with a sharp piece of stone forcibly thrust through it. How do you think it feels!"

The younger twin almost chuckled. If Elladan was whining, the wound wasn't that serious. It was only when the elf kept insisting he was fine that something was really wrong.

0-0-0-0

Rashneg paced in annoyance. What was taking them so long? Taghak should have tracked the little filth in half this amount of time. The orc captain growled soft curses in his horrible tongue, his hands clenching tightly as he considered what he would do to the human when he got his claws on him. He might have gotten what he wanted, but even so he certainly had no intention of letting the worm off.

He scowled down at his rapidly swelling yes. That boy would pay dearly for this. His frown deepened as he thought back to their short encounter, and those eyes. Those strange eyes that should have held nothing but terror, and yet...there was definitely something about the youth that disturbed him deeply.

The soft sound of something approaching brought the orc out of his musings. He turned to see the three orcs he had sent out after Estel.

"Well?" his voice was cold. "It took you long enough. Where's the boy?"

The look that flickered between the three was enough to alert Rashneg that all was not right. "What is it? What happened?"

A single warg padded up. Blood dripped down its' snout. A long gash cut across its' face from ear to jaw.

"Taghak picked up the scent and ran ahead," one orc said hesitantly. "He ran too fast and we couldn't keep up. So we had to track him."

"When we caught up, all the wargs but Murgh were dead," another took up the tale. " It looked like the boy killed three of them, then he and Taghak fell into a hunter's snare." The orc's eyes shifted nervously before he swallowed hard and finished his tale. "They're both dead too."

"Get out of my sight!" Rashneg hissed venomously and watched as they scattered. It was amazing. Four wargs taken out by a human boy. However, the episode was not as bad as it could have been.

At least the boy was dead.

Not only was the boy dead, he had two new elf slaves for his king. That should placate the old orc.

His yellow eyes drifted over to his captives. They were awake, and talking to each other. A cruel smile curled at the corners of his lips.

This whole fiasco had been a nightmare. It was time for a little fun.

0-0-0-0

Elladan nudged his brother. "We are about to have company."

Elrohir's shoulders tensed, but he made no other sign that he had heard his twin.

Rashneg strode over, an evil leer pasted over his features. Behind him, the rest of the orcs quickly gathered, sensing something to their liking was about to take place.

"Wonderful, aren't they?" Rashneg's eyes drifted over the twins as if they were cattle he wished to purchase. "Have fun boys. But remember, control yourselves. They still have to make fairly attractive gifts to our king. And I don't think any of you want to be on that goblin's bad side."

Before the orcs could move, the elven twins leapt up and placed themselves back to back. Elladan hissed slightly as his shoulder was jostled by the movement. His grey eyes narrowed dangerously.

An adventurous orc stepped forwards, a club hanging from one gnarled hand. He raised it with a whoop of sick joy, and rushed the bound elves. Within two seconds, he was flat on his back, gasping his life away as Elladan's foot crushed his windpipe.

As if operating on some secret signal, the remaining orcs rushed forward en masse. The twins struggled, but they could not overcome so many, especially while bound.

Elladan found himself being forced to his knees, grinding his teeth together as twisted nails dug into his wounded shoulder. His bound hands were jerked up above his head, and a rope was attached to them. The rope was flung over a branch, the other end tying Elrohir into a similar position.

As Elladan watched, the orcs prodded the remaining warg forward. Urging him to attack the younger twin.

The warg leapt, and Elrohir quickly dodged, pulling the rope that attached him to his brother taut.

Elladan tried not to make a sound, but it quickly became too much. The pressure from his captor's hands, combined with the pull of the rope on his wound forced a groan from his lips. He prayed that Elrohir would not hear, but his hope was vain. Elrond's second born froze on the spot, his horrified gaze fastened on his brother.

Seeing the elf stationary, Murgh bounded forward once more.

"Elrohir!" Elladan struggled against the arms holding him. "Move!"

But the elf would not.

"No!" Elladan stared in horror as the beast leapt. Moments before the monster hurtled into the young elf lord, its' outstreched claws sliced through the rope attached to Elrohir. Elladan nearly sobbed as he saw the warg carry his brother to the ground. The line that had connected them swung limply back and forth. There were sounds of a scuffle, followed by a sharp cry that was quickly cut off.

"Back!" Another orc drove Murgh away from Elrohir's limp form.

Elrond's eldest tried to pull away from his captors, desperately craning his head to get a look at his twin. Two of the twisted creatures were bent over the elf…they straightened up with Elrohir held between them.

Blood streamed from the dark haired elf's shoulder, and a rough abrasion marred his cheek. Otherwise, he looked unharmed. His eyes found his brother's and a weak smile pulled at the corner's of his mouth.

"I could have taken the pain, Ro," Elladan mouthed, knowing his brother could read lips.

The smile on Elrohir's face widened. "Iston," he mouthed back. "But so can I."

The next moment, an orc's fist found it's way to Elladan's jaw, and from that point on, the elf concentrated only on holding his silence.

0-0-0-0

It was some time later when Elrohir realized he was finding it hard to catch his breath. Perhaps it had something to do with the number of times he had been struck in the midriff. 'Oh, that could be it,' a voice in his head that sounded remarkably like his brother commented sarcastically. He was attempting to think up a suitable come back, when another blow to his burning abdomen distracted him.

The orcs had been quite thorough in their punishment, never concentrating on one place long enough to cause serious damage, but instead taking turns hitting everywhere almost equally. 'So nice to have a well-rounded beating for once.' The younger twin almost snarled at the wry voice in his head, before thinking that it might look a tad bit silly to get frusterated with his own mind. The voice burst into uproarious laughter at this thought, then dubbed him completely insane in a tone that was definitely Elladan.

This last comment was slightly over shadowed by the pain that shot up his leg as an iron boot connected with his thigh. Elrohir gasped slightly, then gathered his composure for the next blow. However, it looked as if the orcs had finally tired of their sport. Or, they were ordered to halt. He didn't know which.

Neither did he care at the moment. He sagged between the orcs that held his arms, focusing on breathing and praying to the Valar that Elladan had fared better than he.

A hand caught at his chin, lifting his head.

Elrohir found himself eye to eye with Rashneg. He was surprised by the look of sheer frustration etched across the orc's features.

0-0-0-0

Rashneg nearly snarled as he looked down at the elf. They were all the same! Them and their cursed control! He didn't dare allow his boys any more play time, things could get ugly very quickly. However, this was unsatisfying.

Even their eyes were calm, he thought in disgust as he glared at Elrohir. What would it take to shatter their composure? To see even a brief flash of pain cross their features?

"So elf. Think you'll like a lifetime as a slave?" He gave the fair face a little shake. "Will you enjoy living forever underground, never near your precious trees and stars..." The orc had hoped to prey on what he'd heard was an elven weakness, but the creature before him continued to stare straight ahead without even a flinch. He decided to try a different attack.

"Never see your friends or family again." Aha. He'd seen the grey eyes flick toward the other elf in concern before the mask dropped again. So they cared about each other at least.

The inkling of a cruel idea pushed itself into his mind, along with a flash of insightfulness that made it even more harsh. If they were concerned with the well-being of one another, then they probably also worried about...

"The human," he said softly. Ah. Now he had their attention. Elrohir's eyes widened slightly, and even Elladan raised his head. "You were his protectors, weren't you?" He sneered. "Maybe even his friends." Though the orc would never know how closely he had hit his mark, he could see the effect his words had on the elves.

"Do you know why my orcs returned without him?"

There. A dawning realization. Growing horror. It was beautiful.

"He's dead."

Lovely. The way the pain just made the grey ice of their eyes shatter into a million pieces was poetry. Rashneg released Elrohir's chin and felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth.

This was satisfying.

0-0-0-0

The twins sat side by side, their backs against a tree, drawing comfort from each other's presence. They spoke not a word. There were no words to express the level of guilt that flowed through them.

All their fault.

Had they not carried their vengeance so far, this would not have happened.

So many years. So many years with the ugly weight of their hatred following their every step…and now because of it, the one they treasured was taken from them. They remembered the look on Estel's face when he had glimpsed the depths of their rage. To think that the most dark and horrific side of them was the last memory their little brother had carried beyond the circles of Arda tore at their souls

Elladan sighed softly, holding back the tears that threatened to flow down his fair cheeks. He felt Elrohir shudder next to him and knew that his twin fought the same battle.

Slowly, Elrond's sons slipped into sleep. A sleep of dreams. Of old memories long forgotten...

0-0-0-0

"Nana."

Golden hair drifted over Elladan's face and he whimpered softly. There were dark things in the night. He was afraid of them. A face appeared above him. It was a beautiful face. Fair, though her children all had the dark hair of their father. Almost violet eyes. Long lashes.

"Nana."

"Yes, I'm here, pen tithen. I'm here."

"Ro."

"Your brother sleeps on, there, in his bed. Only you have awakened at this late hour." Slender hands reached down, lifted the small elfling from his cradle, and placed him on her lap. With a sigh of contentment, the dark haired babe leaned against his mother's shoulder. Surely no dark things could exist when Nana was there.

Another whimper broke the stillness of the room. Surprised, the elf woman lifted her child and crossed to the identical cradle. There, bound in dark dreams lay an elfling that looked almost exactly like the one she held in her arms.

"Ro!" Elladan reached pudgy fingers toward his twin, fear creeping back into his voice. Celebrian bent and touched her younger son, caressing his smooth baby cheek.

Elrohir woke with a start. Tears filled his large grey eyes as he looked up and saw his mother and brother. Without a word, he lifted his small arms in a mute appeal.

An appeal Celebrian answered immediately. Sinking down beside his cradle, the elf woman pulled her son into her lap to join his twin. "Tell me, little ones, what troubles your dreams this night? It is not like you."

"Dark things," Elladan whispered, cuddling close to his mother. Elrohir nodded in solemn agreement.

"Evil," the younger elfling said quietly.

Celebrian's arms tightened around her young ones protectively. "There, there, iyn nin. They cannot hurt you. You are safe here. Ada and I will always protect you. Do not fear the evil."

The twins nodded against her. She sat with them for a long time, until she saw their eyelids drooping. Gently, she lifted Elrohir into his cradle, and, after a moments hesitation, allowed Elladan to climb in as well.

Sleep pulled at Elladan as he listened to his mother leave. She was right. Nothing could harm him. He would not fear the evil. Never would he fear it.

Slumber was still tugging at him, but as the last of his fears dissipated a slightly more nebulous part of his dream drifted to the front of his mind.

"Something else, Ro," he said sleepily.

Elrohir nodded, half gone already. "Boy."

"Needs help." The elder twin stuffed his fist into one eye in an attempt to rub away the drowziness that threatened to overtake him. "Boy needs help."

Elrohir's eyes were already closed, but he nodded again and yawned.

"Estel."

Elladan frowned sleepily. Yes. That had been the boy's name. The boy who was lying in a hole. He was hurt, and he needed help. Estel.

0-0-0-0

Elladan woke with a jerk, shock racing through his system at the ancient memory re-awakened. Elrohir met his gaze and the two stared at each other for a full minute without making a sound.

0-0-0-0

And in a hole in the ground, Estel opened his eyes.

0-0-0-0

Iston- I know

Pen tithen-Little one

Iyn nin- My sons

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