Disclaimer: Still own nothing, not even the song. The song is once again from Evanescence. I love their songs.

A/N: As promised, I got this one up as soon as I could. This chapter is dark and depressing. I figured Aragorn has been having a lot of 'fun' (He has more in this one too), so it was time for Legolas to have some 'fun' with the Nazgul. Don't worry they'll make it out of this soon…. Hopefully alive…. But that's isn't really mandatory, is it?

Please read and review. Thanks so much for all the encouragement. I love hearing from all of you.

Chapter 16

Shadows of Pain

Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again

You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above

-Lies -EVANESCENCE

Aragorn clutched his fist tightly, trying not to scream from the pain assaulting his body. All he could feel was pain. He tried to place his mind somewhere else but the only thing that he could see was the dark presence of the Nazgul.

"You are nothing!" A dark voice hissed in his mind. "You are worthless."

The voice seemed to ring through every corner of his mind, spreading through ever vain in his body. Somehow, amidst the pain, the Nazgul was spreading his poisonous lies into Aragorn's very heart and soul. The wraith attacked every aspect of the human's mind, trying to destroy everything he ever was or ever would be.

"You will never be good enough. You are weak."

Aragorn's body began to tremble. Tears filled his eyes. All he wanted was for the pain to end. He wanted death. Death seemed like the best choice. He hoped for it, wished for it.

"This pain can all be over. Give in! It is what you want. You are not strong enough to hold on. Let go! Give me control!"

The poison was filling his body and Aragorn was falling into it. He was breaking.


Legolas stared in horror as the Nazgul was torturing his friend. Every muscle in the elf's body hurt, but still he wished that he could take the place of his friend. Though the orcs and Nazgul had harshly tortured him, it seemed that the Wraith's main focus was on the human.

Legolas met the eyes of his human friend. He could see clearly the results of the Ringwraith's torture sessions. Aragorn was weakening. His blue-gray eyes were beginning to cloud over. The light behind the ranger's eyes began to darken. He was breaking.

Legolas knew the power of the wraith was so strong that he could whisper lies straight into your mind, making you think of nothing else but the words he spoke. Legolas knew from experience. Whatever lies the Nazgul was using, it was beginning to work. Legolas could only guess the poison that the Nazgul was using. He knew that if he did not do something soon, his friend would be lost forever.

"Estel, U'-caro lasta." (Don't listen to him) Legolas called, knowing full well what would happen to him if he did not stay silent during one of the Nazgul's sessions. Last time he had spoken up to defend his friend, the orcs had burned his chest with hot coal from the fire. It did not matter though. His friend needed him. He would not be silent.

As expected, the orcs immediately began kicking and hitting Legolas. Their beatings did little to stop the strong-minded elf.

"Ped u'-thenid! Bellech le, mellon nin! Goro lim. Le u' erui! Im si'!" (He lies. You are strong, my friend. Hold on. You are not in this alone, for I am here."

The orcs tried restraining Legolas, but the elf would not be silent or give up. Finally, one orc shoved a dirty rag into Legolas mouth. He shoved it so far and roughly, that it made Legolas gag. The orcs, however, were too late.

Legolas' words had already strengthened Aragorn. Light returned to the human's eyes and Nazgul began to loose his control.

With an angered growl, the Nazgul flung the human to the ground and stalked over to Legolas.

"Trying to ruin my plans, are you?" He hissed.

Legolas glared daggers at the creature, letting him know that that was exactly what he was trying to do and would succeed.

"Punish him for his actions. Make him regret his words." The wraith seethed to the orcs.

The orcs gladly complied with their master's command.

"Make him scream." The Nazgul commanded before walking towards Aragorn. Two orcs had already bound the human to a tree, making sure he was securely tied before leaving him.

The Wraith grabbed a soiled rag and tied it quickly over the man's eyes. "Soon you will hear the anguish screams of your friend." He whispered in the man's ear. "And there will be nothing you can do about it."

"Curse you!" Aragorn spat with all the courage he could.

The Nazgul made no sign that he had even heard the man. He placed a gag over the ranger's mouth, before walking off to observe the torment of the elf.

The orcs already had the elf against a tree. His chest was a deep purple color from their previous abuse and the orcs were enjoying how tender the bruised flesh was. Their strikes soon became harder making Legolas cringe and grit his teeth. More than anything Legolas willed himself to be silent. He did not want Aragorn to hear him cry out and not know what was happening. He could not put the human through that.

He bit hard at his lip as the orcs began to strike him with one of their clubbed weapons. He grunted as the orcs hit a particularly painful spot on his ribs. The orcs hit him again and again, increasing the strength behind each blow. The small moans of pain could not be helped. Legolas tried desperately to focus on his breathing, but even that was becoming quite painful. He felt one of his ribs break under the club of the orc and he gasped in pain.

Eventually, however, the orcs became bored and shoved the elf harshly to the ground. With his hands tied behinds him, Legolas could not even break his fall. He landed hard on his shoulder, trying not to fall against his bruised chest and ribs. It did not work as well as he would have liked and he had to stifle a scream of pain as his broken rib jabbed at him painfully.

The orcs gave him no time to recover. They began to lash at his back with their cruel whips. Legolas dug his nails deep into his palm, biting his lip at each strike. As much as he could, he kept his defiant look on his face. The whip tore painfully at his lower back, legs and even his arms. Old wounds were reopened and Legolas could feel blood running down his back to the ground.

Legolas closed his eyes tightly, mentally trying to block out the pain that was assaulting his body. It was becoming increasingly difficult, but despite his injuries, Legolas was strong. He focused hard on his breathing and tried not to think of the pain.

"Enough!" The Nazgul finally hissed.

The orcs immediately complied, quickly untying the hands of their captive

Legolas looked up as he felt the evil being approach him. The Wraith grabbed Legolas by the throat and lifted him from the ground.

"Who are you?" He asked in a deep voice.

Legolas swallowed hard, struggling to breathe. He fought the urge to try to flail away from the strong grip. "An elf." Legolas stated the obvious, but he couldn't help it. He knew his arrogance would cause more pain, but he hoped it would infuriate the Nazgul.

The Wraith slammed him against a tree, making Legolas bite back a cry of pain.

"Tell me your name." The creature fumed.

"Why do you want to know?" Legolas gritted out.

The Nazgul squeezed harder on the elf's throat, making Legolas' head spin. He struggled for breath as his eyes quickly began to loose focus. The Nazgul held him for only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to Legolas. Finally, his grip loosened slightly, allowing Legolas some much needed air.

"Your stupid games will earn nothing but pain."

Legolas could feel the evil presence of the wraith beginning to tear at his mind. The Nazgul was trying once again to search through his mind and to break the elf. Legolas tried pushing him away, but the pain stabbing at his body made it nearly impossible. He could feel himself slipping slowly in the darkness. Little by little, he was loosing control. He did not stop it; he could not. The evil was too strong.

Legolas; however, was not about to give up. He focused his mind on a memory of his sister. He recalled her beauty and her laughter. He allowed the memory to play through in his mind, not caring that the wraith could see it all. Before long, the wraith was loosing control and Legolas' spirit was being renewed.

The Nazgul hissed bitterly. With his free hand, he grabbed Legolas' left arm. With one quick motion, he snapped the joint of its socket.

Legolas heard a horrible pop and felt pain shoot through his body, before he even knew what had happened. He let out a loud cry of pain, before he could even stop himself. As the Nazgul released him, Legolas' body slumped to the ground.

The Wraith bent down by him. "There is no use resisting me. Everyone breaks."

Legolas raised his eyes slightly to look the evil creature in the face. With all the defiance he could, Legolas glared at the evil sight. "I will never break. NEVER." The elf spat the words, trying to keep the pain from his voice.

The Nazgul merely chuckled. He picked up the elf's right hand, griping it harshly. "You will break, elf." With his other hand, the wraith gripped one of Legolas' fingers and pulled harshly. Legolas bit back a cry of pain as he felt his finger jerk out of place.

"Little by little…"

The Wraith took another finger. , this time bending it back. With a quick snap, the bone broke. Legolas cried out in agony as the pain was becoming too much for even his elven body.

"Piece by piece…"

The wraith continued by grabbing the next finger, crushing the bone with his powerful strength.

"It's only a matter of time."

Legolas turned his head away, knowing what would follow. He gritted his teeth, preparing himself once again for the spasm of pain that would shoot through his body. He breathed out hard through his clenched teeth. Now only his thumb was left undamaged and he feared it would not be for long.

"Soon you will be under my control." As the wraith hissed out his words, he jerked Legolas thumb as harshly as he could.

Tears were in the elf's eyes as his hand fell limply to the ground. He quickly clutched it to his chest. He swallowed back the tears and the scream of pain that formed a lump in his throat. His body began to shake from the pain it was experiencing. It was too much for his body to handle and he was beginning to go into shock. He concentrated on his breathing, trying desperately to control his body's reactions. Never before had the elf experienced so much pain at one time.


Aragorn did not know which was worse, hearing your friend in pain and seeing everything that happened, or hearing it, but not having a clue as to what the orcs were doing to him. Before this incident, Aragorn would have immediately said it would be better to not see what was happening, but now he was not so sure. True, seeing your friend in pain is the most horrible thing he could imagine and Aragorn wished to die than to have to watch that. Yet, there was some comfort of being able to know when each strike would come, or to know what had made your friend cry out in pain. When you could only hear as your friend suffered, it aloud your mind to create it's own horrible nightmare of what was happening.

Aragorn was beginning to curse his hearing and wished himself to be deaf. The orcs were close, allowing Aragorn to hear every cry, every moan, and every gasp of pain. He knew Legolas was trying hard to keep his pride and defiance, as well as not give the orcs the pleasure of hearing him scream. And from what Aragorn could hear, the elf was succeeding. He was keeping his honor and his determination.

But as he heard another gasp of pain, Aragorn curled his fist tighter, digging his nails deeper into his palm. He took a few deep breaths, wishing to pass to Legolas all the strength he had. Sometime later, he heard an anguished cry of pain. Aragorn's heart leapt into his throat and he bit hard at his lip. He did not think he wanted to know what had occurred to make Legolas cry out in so much pain. He loathed the Wraith and the orcs for whatever they had just done to his friend. No curse in the common tongue, elvish, or any other language would be vile enough to use on the repulsive creatures.

Sometime after that, which seemed like an eternity, Aragorn's blindfold was pulled from his eyes and the gag was removed. Immediately Aragorn looked around for the elf prince. The orcs were half-dragging, half carrying the weary elf.

Aragorn could only give his friend a look of sympathy as Legolas was thrown to the forest floor. The elf was quickly tied and left.

Aragorn's eyes filled with tears at the sight of the elf (though he was not sure if he looked much better). Legolas' chest was bruised and a purple-blue tint covered almost every inch of his chest and stomach. There were also many burn marks on his chest as well as his legs. His legs were full of gashes, cuts, and dried blood from where the orcs had used knives to literally peel away at the elf's fair flesh. Even Legolas' face that usually had a slight glow to it was now pale and discolored. One of his eyes was a deep shade of black and was partly swollen shut. His lips were dry and crusted with blood. Most of that; however, was older wounds. That in itself was enough to make the ranger's eyes fill with tears, but it was the new wounds that worried him more.

Legolas had fresh bruises around his chest and face. He had many bleeding welts across his back and torso and Aragorn could see fresh crimson blood falling down his friend's legs. He also saw the twisted angle of Legolas' shoulder and knew quickly that it was dislocated.

That; however, was not what tore Aragorn's heart the most. Looking down at his friend's right hand came close to making Aragorn sick. Every finger on the elf's hand was in some awkward and unnatural position. Every finger was either dislocated or broken. Aragorn shuddered. His healing skill told him quickly that if the bones were not set quickly and left to heal, Legolas would never be able to use his beloved bow again. If his fingers were not properly cared for, he would never be able to draw an arrow to his bow properly.

The tears in Aragorn's eyes were soon replaced by burning hatred. He despised the orcs for what they had done to his elven friend. For five days now, the orcs and Nazgul had tortured both of them relentlessly. They were both exhausted physically as well as mentally. The only way they had survived this long without breaking was because if the strength of their friendship. Even through the torment, they kept each other strong; they gave each other hope.

Aragorn swallowed hard as he looked at Legolas. The elf was shaking visibly and his breathing was dangerously shallow and uneven. Usually the elf could keep his face neutral and hide away his pain. The spasms that made even the elf shake, made Aragorn wonder how much more he could endure. To see the usually strong, vigorous elf in so much obvious pain, tore the ranger's heart. The fear that was coursing through Aragorn at seeing his friend in this condition could not be described in words.

Legolas took a few shaky breaths. Within a matter of seconds, he regained his composure and was able to conceal the pain behind a straight face.

Aragorn frowned slightly at how well the prince could hide his pain. He knew that skill had not come without a price and it made Aragorn wonder how many times in the past had the prince endured such harsh treatment.

"I'm sorry my friend." Aragorn was about to say more, but the Prince stopped him.

"Nay, my friend." Legolas said shaking his head slightly. "It is I who should apologize."

Aragorn looked at him confused, unsure of what the elf meant.

The elf continued. His voice was soft and pain filled, dripping with regret. "I tried to stay silent and not force you to listen to me cry in agony. I know you could hear me and I'm sorry." The elf barely whispered the last words. He felt so ashamed and he hated himself for his weakness. Aragorn had been through enough already, he did not need to make things harder on the human. Knowing that Aragorn had been able to hear every whimper, every cry in pain... that hurt a lot.

Aragorn's eyes filled with tears at his friend's unnecessary apology. "Mellon nin, do not be sorry. No one could have handled the pain you endured for so long with any more bravery or strength than you did. Do not be ashamed."

Legolas raised his eyes slightly, letting his friend's words bring him strength. He smiled slightly, grateful for the mere presence of his friend.

"How do you fare?" He asked to try to turn the attention away from him. He did not want Aragorn worrying about him anymore than he already was.

Aragorn knew Legolas was trying to change the subject to try to draw the attention away from himself. He smiled slightly; however, deciding to take Legolas' mind away from the pain. "Better than you apparently." He joked. "You look terrible."

Legolas knew it was a jest from his friend, but at the moment that was exactly how he felt. He felt terrible and he knew he looked it. Still despite how he felt, he smiled. Knowing laughter and friendship was the best remedy there was, he quickly thought of a comment to reply with. "Then I guess you should look at yourself again, Edan." He added a playful tone of disgust as at the last part. (human)

Aragorn chuckled, knowing the elf was probably right. He too felt terrible. He stayed silent however, letting his thoughts drift towards home. How he missed his family at times like this. He longed to be with his brothers again or to feel the embrace of his father. More than anything in the world, he longed for that.

With a sigh, Aragorn opened his eyes that he did not even remember closing, and looked at Legolas. The elf was staring off into the trees. His eyes were not clouded over in elven rest, making Aragorn believe the elf was remembering his home as well. As he stared at the elf, the poisonous lies from the Nazgul began to resurface. Thoughts of failure, worthlessness, and weakness lingered in the back of his mind. Aragorn tried to push it aside, but the wraith had burned them deep into his mind. The ranger couldn't help but wonder if perhaps they were actually true.