Disclaimer- I don't own anything or anyone that you can recognize
Reviews- rogue641- thanks rogue, aren't I a genius? (Grins)
DawnStrider- Thank you and you'll find out!
Invisigoth3- Thanks, and they do make a great pair don't they, why can't they just keep their mouths shut. Oh and this is a series I'm writing so Whispering Tears and Outcast of Rivendell are apart of it and there will be more to come! (Grins evilly)
Part 8
Aragorn's punishment ended quickly but his back now burned like fire, the king had decided he would be the one to punish them and his whip bit into their backs deeper then ever. Legolas' punishment lasted for hours, when they were done, of his skin was ripped to shred's.
The door to their dark cell opened and Aragorn froze as he kept one of eye Legolas' labored breathing. The figure stepped closer and in the dim light he could barley see the face of a young boy.
"What do you want?" he asked defensfully.
"Peace my friend." The boy announced placing both hand in the air.
"My name is Roman, I wish to help."
"How can I be sure you are not lying?"
"I do not believe in what my father and grandfather say, please just trust me. I'm your only chance." Aragorn looked at him with weary eyes, but then looked back at Legolas' struggling form.
"Alright what do you have in mind?"
Aragorn, Legolas, and Roman traveled slowly and quietly through the dark unused hallways of the castle. Cloaks hide their identities just incase they should run into anyone. Roman and Aragorn supported Legolas on each side as he drifted in and out of conciseness. Aragorn's injuries didn't allow him to move fast and Roman could see the sharp pain in his eyes, as much as the eighteen year old tried to hide it.
"Where are we going?" Aragorn whispered to Roman as they turned left into another dark corridor.
"These halls lead to a secret passage, and the passage leads out of the city. Not many people know of it, so they rarely traveled."
"How do you know this?"
"I have been coming here since I was little. My friends and I use to play hide-and-seek in these halls and in the passage. But nobody knew we did, not the king, my grandfather, or even my father." Aragorn nodded and no more was said.
Finally they came to a stop. Roman lifted the trap door open and climbed in. They helped Legolas down into the tunnel next. Aragorn climbed in last as Roman closed the trap door behind them.
"We are pretty much safe down here, but keep your guard up they might just figure out where we've gone to." Aragorn nodded as they continued on.
"I never asked your name?" Roman said after a while, as Aragorn looked down toward Legolas who nodded weakly.
"Call me Estel." Roman smiled as they came to a stop.
"Alright Estel, let's stop here for now."
"Should we not keep moving?"
"It will not do us any good if we are too tired to out run them, if need be. I also think your friend needs tending to, as well as yourself."
'But I have no herbs." He replied.
"I have packed all we will need, though I am not very skilled in the healing arts." The young boy smiled.
"But I am, my father has trained me since I was a young lad." He answered smiling back as he unpacked the herbs and began to work. Aragorn worked on Legolas, as Roman worked on Aragorn's with the young healer instructions.
"How long have you two been captives?"
"We are not sure, all we know that it has been to long." Legolas replied as the stinging medicine that was applied to his back started to give him back some of his strength.
"Were you really friends with my uncle?" the blued eyed boy asked finishing with Aragorn's back and moving to sit in front of Legolas.
"Yes Roman I was, he was like a brother to me from the day I met him when he was seventeen to the day he died at twenty four. He was like a brother to me. Your grandfather has been filling you and your fathers mind with terrible lies, I would have done anything to prevent your uncles death." He said looking Roman straight in the eyes. The boy smiled finally confirming what he had known for many years.
"I never believed those stories anyway." This surprised both friends as they stared at the boy in front of them.
"I knew my great grandfather wasn't a very kind hearted person. I knew he hurt uncle Rorin before his death. The story just never matched up to you being at blame." A small smile played it's away across the young princes lips, as he Romans hand in his.
"I am also seventeen the same age you met my uncle." This made Legolas smile more as he looked into Roman sea blue eyes once more.
"You look so much like your uncle Roman, and now that I am sitting here talking to you I can see much of his personality in you."
"Really no one has ever told me that."
"That's because they are to blind and arrogant to see it themselves." He told him as over 2,000 years of wisdom shown though.
"I'm sorry to break this up, but I really think we should keep moving. The sooner we get Legolas to Rivendell the better." They all agreed as they headed off once again. They finally made it out of the passage and began the long trek back to Rivendell.
As they went on it became harder and harder as both Aragorn and Legolas' injuries where beginning to take their toll. But they couldn't stop now; they knew Emermin was on their trail and if they stopped to rest for but a second they would be caught.
Suddenly Legolas dropped to the ground, his tired beaten body given in to the weariness,
"Legolas!" Aragorn yelled as he tried to help his friend back up onto his feet.
"Go on without me, there is no sense in both of you getting caught because of me." He yelled pushing them away with what little strength he had left.
"No, I will not leave you."
"Estel listen to me, you must get back to Rivendell, and if he can your father will save me." Ordered the stubborn elf prince.
"No, you promised me we would both make it out alive. Do not break that promise." Tears ran down his muddy cheek at the thought of losing his friend.
"I promised I would get you out alive, I never said…" before he could continue Elrond's youngest son cut in.
"No you said we both would, you are not breaking that promise."
"Hush both of you." Roman whispered as they all fell silent. They could hear the sound of galloping horses, as they held their breaths; the noise grew closer and closer. Air seemed to grow colder as adrenaline began to creep it way through their blood streams. Two cloaked figured on horseback emerged from the shadows of the trees.
One jumped down from the horse it was just sitting on and began to make its way towards them. Roman let out a battle cry, as he drew his sword and attacked. The stranger retaliated as steal met steal.
"Peace friend, we mean no harm." The stranger pulled back his hood revealing his face.
"Elladan what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you little brother." The other said dismounting his horse and pulling back his hood to reveal the face of Elrohir.
"We have been searching for you two for three months."
"Three months? Have we really been captive that long?" Aragorn said mostly to himself.
"Captives? To whom?"
"The king of Morlenty, a slave trader named Emermin and his group surrounded us them brought us to him." Legolas roughly explained though labored breaths.
"I have heard of him, no elf that has encountered him has been heard from again." Explained Elladan as he and Elrohir began to look over both Aragorn and Legolas' wombs.
"You both should consider yourselves lucky."
"We do and it is all thanks to Roman here that we are free. He broke us out." The twins finally acknowledged the young boy standing near the horses.
"Thank you Roman, you forever have our gratitude."
"Yes Roman, you forever have an elf's gratitude. But somehow I don't think your father and grandfather will feel the same way." The joy on the seventeen year olds face disappeared as anger flared in his sea blue eyes.
"What you're doing is wrong!"
"You are helping the elf that killed you great uncle, you are a traitor to your own family." Emermin said trying to confuse the young boy.
"No they betrayed me, by lying to me. Legolas did not kill uncle Rorin!"
"How do you know that slave is not lying to you?"
"Because I can see it in his eyes, and never call him a slave again. Slavery in illegal, I will not let to torture any more elves."
"Id that is how you feel Roman then you will die with them." The slave trader yelled as he raised his sword ready to strike down the seventeen year old that stood in front of him.
Roman's hands flew up trying somehow to shield himself from the unavoidable blow to come. He opened his eyes and looked up when the sharp pain never came, only to find that Aragorn had blocked the deadly sword with his own.
"Stupid move little boy." He taunted as he went to strike with his sword but Aragorn blocked it. They circled each other with their swords still touching. Emermin made another strike and again Aragorn blocked. Suddenly the battle for life started. The sound of steal clashing echoed in the air. The sharp edge slashed across the eighteen years olds face. He let out a cry of pain as the blood flowed down his cheek. He swung at Emermin as he easily dodged the young injured boy's weak attempts.
"Come now boy, you're far too weak to win. Just surrender and I might just grant you, you life." He taunted and Aragorn knew he was telling the truth. He started to back way but his foot caught a branch and he had yet another meeting with the forest floor. He suddenly started to remember when he was just a young child, when he use to run into the forest to escape the other children's teasing remarks, he was suddenly that five year old child again, wanting to just ran from the laughing man before him. He looked over to where Legolas and Rorin were but the twins were no where to be found.
"Now little boy, time to end your pathetic life." Emermin grinned as he went back on his word and raised his sword to silence the green eyed human forever.
A/N- ok that's it for now, there is a mention of Outcast of Rivendell in this chapter, for those who have read it you probably caught it easily.