First Meeting

Chapter 4: Taken Hostage

Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien. I'm writing this for fun, not money.

"I'm innocent!" Aragorn was beyond frustrated. The Elvenking had said that he would be executed at dawn and his time was running out. "I told you I don't have a brand on my shoulder. You can check for yourselves. I was tracking the outlaws through the forest. I'm not one of them."

He had been trying to convince the guards of his innocence since they had left the Great Hall, yet none of his protests made any difference. The warriors continued to ignore him along with the other men. It was hopeless. The soldier's king had condemned them to die and the elves trusted the king's judgment. Nothing Aragorn said would convince them to do otherwise.

Aragorn was not sure how much time had passed, but eventually the door leading to the prison that contained the men's cells opened. Aragorn tensed expecting that his time had come. Two guards entered the prison and, to Aragorn relief, they did not open the cells to take the prisoners to their execution. Instead, they went over to the two elven warriors that had been guarding the men. One of those guards handed the keys to the cells to the first of the newly entered warriors, a guard with golden blond hair. The soldiers who that had been ignoring Aragorn for the last several hours left the prison.

'Replacements,' Aragorn thought.

At first he was hopeful. Perhaps these elves would be more willing to listen to him. As he thought about though, he realised that this was his last chance. Was he willing to risk his life on the chance that one of the guards was inclined to believe him?

'No,' He thought. 'I can't risk it. I have to find another way out of this.'

He quietly slid to the floor and lay unmoving. Over the sounds of the other men, he doubted the elves heard his movement. They have had their backs to him since they entered. There was no way they could have seen him sitting up a moment ago. He strained his ears to catch the sound of the elves' soft footsteps as they made their rounds through the prison, checking on each of the prisoners.

"Is this one sleeping?" He heard one of the elves ask in Sindarin. The voice was coming from right outside his cell. He sounded surprised. That was understandable. What man would be able to sleep after being told he had only hours to live? He heard the elf sigh.

"Go send for the healer." He ordered the other guard.

"Yes, Sir"

Aragorn held his breath as the door to his cell slid open. This was his chance. The elf approached him and he felt gentle hands on his throat, checking for breathing. The elf was leaning over him now and Aragorn seized the opportunity. His fist collided with the elf's jaw. The elf was momentarily stunned, allowing Aragorn to grab the hilts of the twin blades strapped to the guard's back and pull the daggers free. By now the guard had recovered from his blow and called for help. Bereft of his knives he grabbed one of his arrows. Aragorn saw what the elf was doing and managed to move so that the arrow, intended for his throat, instead sank into his shoulder. He cried out in pain and before the elf could try again, he grabbed hold of him and placed the guard's own blade at his throat. The elf stilled, aware of his precarious position. Aragorn, careful to keep the knife on the guard's neck, slipped the straps of the elf's quiver over his shoulders and repositioned it onto his own back.

Aragorn paused for a moment to regain his breath. He was struggling with the pain in his shoulder and the self-condemnation he was feeling. He held no ill will towards elves. Growing up in Rivendell he had learn to respect the Firstborn. The thought of using one of them as a hostage now made him sick, but he had told himself there was no other choice if he wanted to live. Besides, he told himself he was not actually going to harm the elf. However, he was beginning to feel ashamed of his underhanded tactics. He had not expected the guard to be so young. Not that it was easy to tell an elf's age, but in Rivendell he had learned that you could tell an elf's age by his eyes. During the fight, he had seen clearly this elf's youth and inexperience. He couldn't be more than a few hundred years old, barely more than a child to elves.

Aragorn's remorse was cut short by the sound of more elves entering the prison.

"Don't move," He ordered, "Or I'll slit his throat."

The elves paused uncertainly. Aragorn was desperate. He had deliberately let that show in his voice. He had hoped that the elves would hesitant to attack a man who sounded desperate enough to kill his hostage even if it meant his own death. It seemed that he had been correct. The elves did not advance further. Aragorn walked out of the cell that the guard had left open.

"Get in the cell." He ordered and they did. He was fortunate that they all fit. Apparently, the elves had not expected the man to be able to overtake one of their own. Only a handful of soldiers had answered the guard's call for help. He grabbed the keyring off of his hostage's belt. After the third try, he managed to find the right key and locked the elves in the cell. He now heard the other men crying out to him. Pleading him to free them as well. He ignored them. Unlike him, they were guilty and deserved their punishment. He had fulfilled the village woman's wish and ensured that the men would not bother her again. He only hoped that his good deed would not cost him his life.

He exited the cell and proceeded through the stronghold, dragging his hostage with him. Suddenly, he remember that he had been unconscious when he was brought brought here.

"Which way to get out of here?" He demanded, giving the elf a shake when he did not immediately reply.

"Straight." The elf's voice was filled with disdain and hatred.

In that manner, Aragorn began to make his way through the palace, following the elf's directions.

"Legolas!"

Aragorn whipped around. A servant had just emerged from one of the rooms they had just passed. Before Aragorn could order him to stay put, the elf had already sprinted off in the opposite direction.

'Going for more guards, most likely.' Aragorn thought to himself and sped up a little.

'Legolas,' he thought. So that was the elf's name. He fought down another wave of shame. Somehow knowing the elf's name made Aragorn's actions seem worse. Now his hostage wasn't just a hostage. Now he had a name.

Eventually, the elf led him out of the stronghold and into a courtyard. Blocking their way to the Great Doors that led out to the forest was a host of elven warriors and King Thranduil himself. Aragorn tried not to let his fear and uncertainty show on his face. His first thought was to once again try to proclaim his innocence, but he discarded that thought immediately. He had attacked an elven warrior for doing no more than following orders. He could not longer claim to be innocent. Besides, the king would not believe him if he did.

"King Thranduil," he said, clutching Legolas closer to him and holding the knife closer to his skin. "Allow me to go free or this elf dies."

The Elvenking glared at him with utmost fury in his eyes. Then, he glanced at Legolas and Aragorn thought something was shared between them, although he did not know what. Finally, the king nodded to his soldiers to open the gate. Aragorn held in a sigh of relief. He would live a little longer anyway.

"Send for my weapons and pack." He demanded. The Elvenking nodded towards another elf who hurried off to obey. "You will grant me safe passage to Esgaroth. I will take this elf with me as insurance. Once I reach the forest's edge it will let him go, unharmed."

He hoped that, once he got close enough to Esgaroth, the elves would hesitate to attack him in a mannish town. How he would get to Esgaroth alive, he did not know yet.

"Very well."

Thranduil's words were cold and deadly.

The elf returned with his things and he strapped on his sword and hoisted up his pack. Then he nudged Legolas forward and began his trek through the forest.

'Stupid,' Legolas thought to himself. 'How could I be so stupid.'

He knew better than to have put himself a dangerous position by entering the man's cell alone. The truth was, he had never expected a man to be able to overpower him. This man, however, had moved with speed and skill that was uncommon in his race.

Legolas knew from his studies that men's health was very fragile. That was why, when he saw the man lying unmoving in his cell, he had assumed that the spider bite had affected him worse than it would an elf. True, the man was to be executed in a few hours anyway, but while he was guarding the men, they were in his care. It was his duty to see that they came to no harm while under his protection.

The man dragged him out into the courtyard, and Legolas' breath caught in his throat. When he saw his father looking at him he tried to silently communicate his apology. During his warrior training, one of his first lessons was to never be taken hostage.

"There is no request that I could refuse if your life was at stake, ion nin." His father had told him with brutal honesty.

Now Legolas dropped his head in shame at being capture and putting his father in this predicament. Fortunately, the man did not seem aware of whom he held prisoner. He had not reacted when Galion had foolishly called out Legolas' name. Most likely, the man was not even aware that the Elvenking had a son. Yet Legolas was still a hostage, and when the man pushed him forward he had no choice but to obey and travel into the forest.

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