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A day was a long time to wait. Especially if one could only sit around in a cell and do nothing but stare at the wall. Aragorn had crossed the cell twice but so far there had been no means to an escape. They had not been served any food either and Aragorn was starting to feel hungry.

He could go without food for days, he was used to it but his recent stay at the palace had fattened him up a little. He watched as Legolas sat completely still, regal even when the elf sat against the wall.

The elven eyes were glazed over in slumber and Aragorn wondered what Legolas was dreaming of.

He longed for sleep himself but the only thing to do was to think and to watch the passing of the day through the window. What had happened that made these people grab them at the first opportunity and not even allow them to explain themselves?

They had been accused of stealing cattle but this must have been going on for quite some time if they were arresting people on sight. How much cattle had been stolen? There was one certainty; the wood elves were not responsible.

They lived too far into the woods and did not rely on men to trade except for what they could not grow themselves. They raised their own cattle so the wood elves would never need to steal anything. As if they would ever steal.

Aragorn crossed his legs. All this thinking gave him a headache. And should he trust the man that was going to help them escape tonight? It would not help their cause in the eyes of the village elder if he knew that they had escaped.

What if it was just going to be another trap? It didn't matter if he was caught but he knew that there were people in the world who would love to get their hands on an elf. He was not going to give them Legolas.

He would have to consult with the elf and for that Legolas needed to be awake. He softly called Legolas' name and immediately the blue eyes snapped to his own.

"Yes, Aragorn?" Legolas replied softly in the Grey tongue.

"We need to come up with a plan regarding tonight. What are we going to do?"

"Do we have much of a choice? As far as I can see it, we have only two. We can wait here until they decide to either believe us or question us further or we can take the other man's offer and break out. I am content to remain here and await the village elder to come to his senses but I fear that may not be beneficial for your health. You are still recovering and the sooner we can get out of here and find proper lodging the better."

"A decent meal would not be remiss."

"And decent nights sleep as well." Legolas rose lightly to his feet as he crossed the room to look out the barred window.

"But I am not so sure that it will be in our best interest to allow that man to help us escape." The elf continued. Aragorn glanced up at the tall figure as he asked.

"You do not trust him?"

"I do not trust people who lie to their elders, no indeed not. He could have shared what he knew with village elder."

"And you think he is planning something?"

"That much is obvious. But I just do not know what he is planning. I have no idea who he could be working for or who he is."

"He could be planning to get his hands on you. You are the prince of Mirkwood and quite valuable."

"I thank you for your concern, Estel but I am not the only valuable one. Unless you forgot your own heritage?"

"Of course I have not. How could I ever forget that?" Aragorn ran a hand through his mattered hair. He knew that he could never forget his heritage. The innocent days of his childhood were gone forever. When he had learned of his true name and duty, all his childlike innocence had been shattered.

He shifted on the hard ground as Legolas asked. "You are not uncomfortable, are you?"

"I am as comfortable as any man can be when locked in a cell and not knowing what will happen." Aragorn stared at the bucket of water they had been given. It had been filthy but it was water and when one was thirsty, they did not complain about the water they were given.

Legolas had merely turned his nose up at the water but Aragorn had to drink. Even when it made him gag, it eased the tension in his throat.

"We still have not decided what we are going to do." This time the elven voice was a whisper and Aragorn did not need to hear the heavy tread of boots outside their cell to know that the guard was near.

"What are our chances? If we remain here we may never catch who is responsible. What will happen then? We will be out on trial and I have no intention on serving a life sentence in a cell or die because of a crime I did not commit. These men may be out best option."

"So you plan to join in the escape then?" Legolas' voice was neutral and soft.

"Do you have an other plan? You are stronger then 10 men and if it comes to a fight we do have the advantage. I would rather be out in the woods, wounded then to sit here and contemplate what is going to happen next."

"Then I suppose the best thing for you to do is to get some rest. You do not know when you get another chance to."

'You do not agree with me?"

"I did not say that, Aragorn. I do agree with you. We have a much better chance out there then we do in here. I know these woods like the back of my hand and my senses and strength are superior to any human. Yes, I do believe it is best that we escape. But first we will have to wait till nightfall and that means that you should get some sleep."

Aragorn sighed and then nodded as he rolled up. Tonight was going to be a long enough night so he may as well use the time left as Legolas suggested and get some sleep.

Xx

It seemed that the night did come rather quickly. And with it came the man who was going to rescue them. There was a switching of the guards and they had been left alone for barely a few moments when a low voice came outside of their window.

"Are you ready?"

The voice was gruff but it was the same voice that had called them before. Aragorn rose to his feet. He glanced towards the door but it seemed that the guards hadn't heard them.

"You need to get a move on if you wish to get us out of here before the guards return. Throw us the rope and we shall tie it around the bars. Then you kick the horse into motion."

Aragorn did not even bother to ask Legolas how the elf knew that a horse was there. Now that he was closer he could heard the animal snorting and pawing at the ground. The next moment a piece of rope was shoved through the bars. Immediately Legolas tied it around the bars.

The elf had it tied securely even before Aragorn could make a step forward.

"We must hurry the moment the bars have been pulled away. The noise will certainly attract attention. Stay close to me and we shall escape into the trees. I cannot see how many people there are outside but I am convinced that there are more people then we can see at the moment. "

Aragorn took a step backwards as the horse moved forward and the pressure was put on the bars. It took only moments but those moments seemed like hours to Aragorn as the man turned to listen to the return of the guard's boots.

The next moment the wooden beams shattered and the bars were pulled away. Legolas grabbed his hand and moved forward. The sound of the guards running and yelling towards the cell prompted Aragorn to move as he leaped over the ragged edges of the broken beams.

He landed on the ground and immediately a hand was held out to him. He ignored it in favor of climbing to his own feet.

"Come, we must hurry before they see us and follow. We cannot allow them to do that."

He could feel Legolas' hand on his shoulder as the elf pushed him into the direction the man suggested. "He seems to be alone. We must hurry before they catch us again."

The next few minutes were a blur of passing trees and running footsteps. There were shouts coming from behind them and when Aragorn dared to look behind him, he could see the flash of torches. There seemed to be a lot of people behind him but Aragorn did not have the time to glance behind him for so long.

"Keep up!" This time the voice changed and the accent was unmistakable northern. Aragorn felt himself tensing. It was almost as if he knew that voice.

Legolas' hand on his shoulder urged him on. He stumbled at times but even then the elf held him up. Aragorn could feel the weariness seeping into his very bones but he kept himself upright and forced himself to continue moving.

It seemed to take forever before they reached a clearing and stopped. He doubled over and rested his knees on his legs, panting for breath.

"I would take care that you reveal who you are!" Legolas took a step to stand before Aragorn and the man glanced up.

The man who had been running before them turned at the authority in the elven voice.

"I doubt that you will recognize me but I was send by Halbarad to help protect you. He was told by Lord Glorfindel that you would travel to Lake Town together with Prince Legolas to attend the council there. I was supposed to meet up with you the moment you would come out of the woods but before I could meet up you had been captured. I have been followed a band of thieves for a few days now. I tried to stay as clear of them as I could but I overheard some of their conversations and knew that they had been stealing from the village."

"How can you proof your identity to us?"

Aragorn glanced up towards the young man as he stepped into the light of the full moon. He recognized the face. The man had also been present when he had shown himself to Halbarad and he had trained for a while with this man.

"Yes, you are Rothen, aren't you?" He stepped forward as the younger man smiled.

"You remember me."

"I never forget a face."

"Do you believe me now when I say that I do not mean to harm you, prince Legolas?"

"I believe you." Legolas' voice was still a bit stiff and cold but Aragorn could see his friend relaxing.

"Good, then all we need to do now is get some rest and then set about clearing your names."

Aragorn could feel the elf stiffening from where he stood right next to Legolas. The prince straightened and asked.

"And how do you propose we go about doing that?"

"We catch the real thieves of course."

And as Aragorn shared a look with Legolas, he knew that their problems weren't over yet.

I hope you liked it. So what should be done in the next chapter? How will our heroes go about baiting thieves? Review of course.