Hello, hello, hello! Yes, I'm am VERY late. But I do have a decent reason. There is a virus going around, and I got it. Said virus entails a nasty cough, a sore throat, and the inability to breathe, along with a whopping dose of sleepiness. So I spent the better part of three days sleeping, and the better part of the week in bed…

I have taken some liberty with traveling distance and time as I have no idea how long it would take to travel from Rohan to Rhûn.

I suppose you people want the chapter now…

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Aragorn's eyes widened to an impossible size when Caireth grabbed Legolas' arm. She moved to her left slightly so she could have a better grip.

"Valar…don't!" Aragorn insisted from his position in the center of camp. Caireth's heartless laugh rang through the air.

"And why shouldn't I? My Lord said I could have some fun," she replied.

A second later a horrible cracking sound split the air, and Legolas uttered a half-choked scream.

Aragorn's heart froze in his chest and he fixed Caireth with a glare that should have caused her to drop dead on the spot. Caireth met his eyes with another sickening grin, her own silver eyes sparkling with amusement.

Once again Aragorn was treated with a glimpse into her past, what had happened to make her so cruel, so heartless?

"Pay attention, ranger, I do not like to be ignored."

"It is no less then you deserve, tithen orch," he hissed angrily, if he had to divert her attention from Legolas to himself he would. He could hear the slightly labored breaths of the elf and the choked whimper when she brushed past him, smacking into his arm.

"Ranger, I would watch your tongue, I am not stupid, nor easily riled as my Lord can be. But I warn you, I know how to properly punish you. Your friend makes a good outlet, does he not?" she asked.

Aragorn paled, this woman knew too much. While she enjoyed her job, and enjoyed inflicting pain on others she was cool and collective about it. She had a detached air of intelligence, and thought out her victim's strategies before laying a finger on them. It was a rather terrifying fact, and something that Aragorn was going to need to figure out. It didn't matter that he was most likely stronger; he had to be smarter, the more cunning of the two.

It was a fact that made him worry.

This woman's job was to be intelligent, to know the game she played better than any of the other players. One false mood and he…or Legolas would pay. It wasn't a thought he relished it.

But things could always get worse.

-3 weeks later-

Aragorn blinked blearily in the late morning sun. They had been riding for nearly five hours, and the day had barely begun. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Legolas, his (thankfully) relocated arm clenched tightly to his chest, a slight grimace etched onto the fair beings face.

From their uncomfortably close position to Mordor he was able to conclude that they were south of Mirkwood (very south) and most likely heading to Rhûn. Which really did nothing to ease his fear; no one would think to look for them in Rhûn, no one. He still had no idea why he was needed, except for the fact that he was able to speak elvish. And the fact that they knew that was somewhat disconcerting, after all, for them to know they had to have been following him for months. Possibly years.

And that was a very bad thing.

With a sigh he resigned himself to looking at Caireth, she was tall and proud, as usual, but there was something different about her, an air of excitement, but something else as well.

Something that looked suspiciously like remorse.

Not that she had anything to be particularly remorseful about, she seemed happy with her accomplishments; after all, it appeared she had done her job. She had successfully captured them both. (The circumstance in which she had caught him was unfair, but he didn't think she particularly cared about that.)

"Ranger, we are close," a quiet voice said to his left. This time, Aragorn didn't jump.

During the past few weeks he had gotten more used to the quiet ways of Naerdor, it was disconcerting in the way he could move like an elf, but it no longer startled Aragorn. There was a haunted look about the younger man; he was one who had seen too much.

"Naerdor, let me ride with Legolas," Aragorn said softly, his eyes seeking out the elven prince who sat on a horse slightly to the left, even a nearly blind person would be able to see that he was close to slipping off his horse.

"Silence! Naerdor, what did I tell you about talking to them like they are friends of yours?"

"My apologies, Caireth, but you forget your place, I am your Lord as well as my brother when in these lands," Naerdor gave the weak argument.

"Of course you are, but who is higher in his favor?" she replied smoothly, tossing her fiery hair. "We will continue straight to the palace to drop off our newest –"

"No, we will go to the Camp site created for such purposes. I will not risk us just because you are getting tired, sister," snapped Cairdor. A man who up till now neither Aragorn nor Legolas had had much to do with, it was interesting to see him interacting with the others.

"Ranger, are you excited to be near your new home?" Caireth asked, tossing her hair again with a smile.

"I don't know it's hard to see anything with you tossing that hair around so much!" he snapped.

Caireth spun her mount around and was next to him in a second.

"What did you say ranger?"

"I said you were tossing your hair around far too often then can be considered healthy, it might fall off. That would be an improvement."

"Be silent ranger! Or I will make you silent!" she roared.

"I am quaking in my boots, lyg," he said dangerously.

"I can not harm you ranger, and that makes you confident, but would you feel so if the elf there was paying for your mistakes?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "You bluff," he hissed.

"Do I?" she smiled and tossed her hair again. "Just wait until we get to the camp site, and we shall see who is bluffing," she was grinning like a Cheshire cat by the time she was done talking.

Said campsite was a small space of land that was relatively cleared of rocks and other small brush. There was also a small cabin with broken windows and what looked like blood spread all over what had once been a front stoop. Caireth caught him looking at it in slight bewilderment.

"Our last elf gave us a bit of an issue," she whispered, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. That was one elf she would love to see punished, in fact, she really wanted him to be punished by the scrawny brown haired elf he'd been trying to protect. But she supposed she would have to settle for seeing him beaten by this human.

"Throw them in the back room, we will continue on in the morning," Naerdor said softly, he was not one to often take command but he did do it when it looked like Caireth wasn't getting anywhere.

"Thank you, Naerdor," the woman snapped, spinning on her heel and entering a room.

"Does she always throw temper tantrums?" Aragorn asked. He received no answer but a few dry smiles.

---&---

The next morning drew bright and clear. And far too early if you asked Aragorn.

He shifted slightly to the left, groaning as the movement jarred a wound he had on his arm.

"Estel, are you all right?" Legolas whispered softly in elvish.

"I am fine, worry about yourself, I do not think we are going yet, so it is all right if you wish to rest…"

"It is impossible to rest with you moaning and groaning, human," the elven prince responded with a smile. He leaned his head back so that it hit the floor.

"Who do you think the elf that gave them trouble was?"

"Glorfindel," Legolas responded with a chuckle.

"What! How do you…"

"I am kidding Estel, I am certain Glorfindel is safely in Imladris along with your brothers and father," Legolas assured him, frowning slightly at his friend's panicked look. "Estel?"

"Just…never mind," the human replied, his eyes scanning the wall.

This had not been built just for the purpose of prisoners, it's creators may have had that in mind, but it wasn't the sole purpose. If he were to have his guess, this cabin had once been the home of an over-seer, an over-seer with children if the small collection of dusty toys in the corner was an indication of youth.

As the dwelling had been built with normal human beings in mind, it had been built with windows.

"Legolas, we are going to climb out the window, come on," the human whispered, nudging the elf with his elbow.

The prince spun over and looked skeptically at the human.

"Will you be behind me?" the Prince asked, guessing the human's intention.

"Of course, I wouldn't let you go alone!" the human replied quickly, smiling brightly at his friend. Legolas rolled his eyes.

"Promise me, Aragorn, don't just stay here!"

"I promise," Aragorn lied quickly, not meeting the Prince's eyes.

Legolas was not paying full attention to the human and was already standing next to the window.

"There aren't any guards, maybe they thought we were stupid…" the elf mused, beginning to climb out the window.

"And where do you think you're going, my pretty little elf?" a silky voice asked from the door.

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I really don't like this chapter, but I needed a filler because I didn't want to throw all of this plus what I have planned for next chapter in one chapter.

Again, I am so sorry for the delay, reviews would be encouraging.