Chapter 2: Lost

A/N

Hi guys I am sorry that the first chapter was so short. Future chapters will be longer I promise! I am a little upset that I got quite a few views but no reviews. I have a very little amount of confidence in writing this, so please help me out! Anyway, onto the next chapter. There is NOT A LOT of action in this one, I'm sorry, but there will definitely be in the future.

Chapter 2

Aragorn urged his horse to go faster, until the trees they were racing through became a blur. Only one thought was in his mind. He had to get to Legolas. He had been riding for barely twenty minutes, and nothing he saw convinced him to stop.

As he dashed through a forest clearing, his horse suddenly reared. It was an elven steed, so Estel knew it wouldn't stop for no good reason. They skidded to a halt, and Estel slid off his horse.

Immediately he stopped. There had been a battle here. Bodies were strewn across the forest glade, and everything was washed in dried brown blood. He scanned the glade for any familiar faces, but found none. Surprised, he discovered all of the bodies were of men. But why would a group of men break out a fight among themselves…

Finally his eyes settled on a body at the edge of the clearing. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the facedown figure had long golden hair, and an elvish blade sheathed at his side.

He stumbled toward the observably dead body and turned the corpse over onto its back. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was not Legolas, but remained worried when he saw the fallen elf's blade was from Mirkwood. Legolas had left for Imladris with two guards. He surely would not have left the elf here without a proper burial unless they had no other choice.

He was distracted from his train of thought when suddenly he heard a soft rustle in the trees behind him, he whirled around, but it was too late. A searing pain erupted in his left shoulder, as if he had lava coursing through his veins instead of blood. In a painful haze, he chanced a look at his shoulder, to see an arrow shaft sticking out of it, the tip buried deeply in the wound.

He returned his attention to the man holding a drawn bow in his face, and the hooded figure behind him. "What are you doing in the woods of Rivendell?" he asked indignantly, trying to keep his agony from showing on his face.

The figure behind his attacker flicked back his hood. Astonished, Aragorn realized he was an elf. What elf would dare threaten a traveller in the forest of Imladris?

The elf ignored his question. "Yes, that is most definitely Lord Elrond's foster son. Why else would a young man be riding through Rivendell, on an elven horse, bearing elvish weapons?"

"What should we do, my lord?" The man with the bow asked gruffly.

"Grab him. Tie him up and do not let him go. He is an essential part of this plan if we want it to work."

In one quick, fluid movement that was too fast for Aragorn's eyes to follow, the elf had unsheathed his blade and dug it under his chin. "You don't understand it yet, pen-neth, but you are going to play a part in the downfall of Lord Elrond."

Aragorn, although still in a pained daze, shot the elf a glare which seemed to go right through him. "I will never be a part of your plans, not if I can help it."

Estel winced as the man behind him roughly bound his wrists together. "Oh, little human, I am afraid you cannot help it at all," the elf said slyly.

Legolas and Tarathon spurred their horses up to top speed, racing towards Rivendell. When the Last Homely House finally appeared on the horizon, the fair-haired prince sighed in relief. They had made it, and now the inhabitants of Imladris could be warned about the hostile strangers surrounding the forests.

Legolas and his dark-haired escort rode up to the gates, and quickly dismounted. Some elves came up and took their steeds to the stables, but Legolas didn't even notice. His eyes were fixed on Lord Elrond, as he came toward them to give a proper greeting. Immediately, the Lord of Imladris noticed something was wrong. Legolas's tunic was covered in blood, and his escort bore many cuts and bruises. And hadn't the prince been sent with two guards?

"Legolas, you need medical attention. Now," ordered Elrond.

"Elrond wait! We were attacked by-"

"Prince Legolas, you and your friend must be treated by a healer right away, and only then will I allow you to inform me of what has happened here."

"Lord Elrond, we were attacked by a group of men, no more than a half hour from Imladris!" Legolas stated indignantly.

Elrond tensed. "Men?" He said curiously.

At that moment, Elrohir walked up. "Legolas, this clearly must be discussed, but as of now, we need to escort you to the healing wing."

Legolas sighed, clearly defeated. His wounds ached and he felt as if he had not slept properly for days. "Fine. But where is Estel?"

"Elrohir, please go and inform Estel that Prince Legolas has arrived."

"Of course, ada, where is he?"

"I believe he went to the Loudwater to escape Elladan."

Elrohir frowned. "No I just returned from the river. Estel was certainly not there."

Legolas began to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right.

"Maybe he is with Elladan, trying to apologize."

"I doubt that ada, if Aragorn is in the same room as Elladan, one of them will not come out alive."

Elrohir paled. "Valar, I will go make sure they are not in the same room."

As soon as Elrohir left, Legolas's strong façade began to crumble, and he stumbled, leaning upon Tarathon for support.

"Now, why don't we get you two in the healing wing, shall we?"

When Aragorn awoke, it was dark. He forced his resisting eyelids open, closing them immediately when pain shot through his forehead. He concentrated slowly. His shoulder burned, but it was too dark to tell if the arrow was still in the wound. The side of his head ached, and he distantly recalled being struck by a club when his struggles proved too much for the men holding him. His wrists were bound tightly behind him, so tightly that his fingers felt numb.

Where was he? He seemed to be sitting on a hard, solid ground, with his back against a cool wall. He appeared to be alone. Wondering what he had got himself into this time, he shifted, trying to assess how bad his injuries really were. Apart from his shoulder wound and aching head, he felt quite good.

Hoping that his captors were not very efficient, he began to form an escape plan. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the screeching sound of metal on rock, and a harshly flickering light appeared in the brazier on the opposite wall.

The dark-haired ranger noticed two things. One, that he was in a cave, a dark, enclosed pocket of air. Second, he noticed the person lighting the braziers was a man, not an elf. He wondered if the elf had been a dream. Racking his brains, he could not think of a single elf who would willingly act against Lord Elrond.

"Oh look, the little rat is awake. You took a pretty hard hit to the head, boy." The man snorted.

Aragorn huffed angrily. Little? He was over a head taller than this insufferable man.

"Apparently, so did you," Aragorn murmured back.

"What was that, boy?"

"Nothing," the ranger said sarcastically.

Scowling, the man raised his hand and backhanded Estel, whipping his head back against the wall. Aragorn immediately turned his head back and lifted his steely grey eyes to the man's, blood dripping from a broken lip.

The man bent down, his large face looming in front of Estel. "That's only a taste of what's to come, boy. Better get used to it." He whispered.

Aragorn glared at the man, feeling a small spark of satisfaction when his attacker clearly became uncomfortable and turned to leave, pulling the heavy iron door shut behind him. Looking down at his burning shoulder, the ranger realised the arrow shaft had snapped and the tip was buried deep in his skin. Sighing in annoyance, he knew he would have to remove it somehow before it became infected. Aragorn took in his new surroundings by the flickering torches that had been left on the wall, and hoped with all his heart that Legolas had made it to Rivendell.

Elrohir hurriedly walked up the stairs into his and Elladan's adjoining bedrooms. Pushing the door open, he stifled a laugh when he saw Elladan sitting despondently on his bed, his hair still decorated with pink flowers. Pushing these thoughts aside, Elrohir asked anxiously, "Elladan, have you seen Estel recently? Ada thought he was at the River Bruinen, but he isn't, and nobody has seen him since this morning."

Elladan turned to face his twin instantly. He was still annoyed at his youngest brother, but that didn't change the fact that he loved him, and would never see him hurt.

"No. But he can't have gone far," Elladan said worriedly. "He was extremely excited for Legolas to be arriving today, and he wouldn't want to miss it."

"Illuvatar!" Elrohir exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you! Legolas arrived not ten minutes ago. He and his escort were attacked on the way here, by a group of men, only a twenty minute ride from the gates. One of the escorts was killed."

Elladan, shocked at the unexpected news, said "Is Legolas well? Did he receive any major injuries?"

"Nothing serious, Elladan. He is in the healing wing now, being treated for a few minor cuts."

Elladan stood, pulling a dark cloak over himself to hide his hair. "Will you go down to the healing wing with me? I am going to check on Legolas, and then we are going to found our troublemaking little brother."

Elrohir nodded. He stood behind Elladan, and helped him properly cover his new hair style with the dark cloak. "It sounds like a reliable plan to me, brother."

The twins walked down the stairs toward the healing wing, desperately trying to think of where Aragorn could have gone to find solitude. The troubling thing was, Estel would be found when he wanted to be. And, Elrohir thought, Valar knew when that would be.

TBC

Pen-neth – young one

Ada - father

Okay, second chapter done! If you like my story and want me to continue it, please pleeaase review! Also if you happen to know any good elvish translating websites, tell me, it would make writing a lot easier. BTW, Merry Christmas everybody!