The sudden onslaught of frigid cold on his face snapped Legolas back to consciousness. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids as his mind tried to process what had happened.

Lifting his arm to rub his pounding head, he quickly realized his hands were bound. Coarse rope tied his pale wrists together in front of him, too tight to permit any hope of escaping them.

Finally, his eyes peeled open, revealing many blurry forms hovering over him. Blinking furiously to clear his vision, the events of before rushed through his head. They were attacked! And Ascal- Ascal! Where was his brother?

Ignoring the protests his head made at the movement, he craned around the blurry shapes, trying desperately to find his brother.

Everything was white. The thick snowflakes stung his eyes. Icy particles assaulted him sharply, driven by the fierce wind. They were in a blizzard!

"Good. You are awake," a voice said in Westron. Legolas looked back at one of the shapes in front of him. Soon, his vision cleared and revealed a rugged looking man. He was scowling at the elf. The expression pulled on the thick red scar that extended from his brow to his chin.

"You two were beginning to get heavy." Anger heated his insides.

"Where is my brother!" he demanded. "Why have you taken us? Show me where my brother is now!"

A hand suddenly struck out and hit the unsuspecting prince on the cheek. The force of the impact made stole his breath and sent him recoiling backwards.

His head flared with agony, making everything swim before his eyes. Rough hands grabbed his shoulders and held him upright.

"You don't make the demands here, elf. I do. As for your question, we took you and your kin because you are the heirs of Mirkwood. And you two are what we need to burn your kingdom to the ground."

"What do you mean? You will never be able to make Mirkwood fall!" The man laughed, a dark malicious sound that set the elf's teeth on edge.

"That is where you are wrong. It is well known that the King of the Woods would do anything for his sons. Even sacrifice his own kingdom to have them back."

"That is not true! My father will never give up Mirkwood for us!" he screamed.

"Ah, but how long do you think he will stay in his cozy castle while his sons are being tortured to madness?" The beginnings of fear crept into the prince. They were going to torture him and his brother. And he knew his father would do anything to save them.

He hung his head to escape the grinning face of his captors.

"Please," he whispered. "Where is Ascal?" He had to see his brother. He had to be strong for him.

The man nodded over his shoulder; the men parted so Legolas could see.

Ascal laid on his side, back facing him. He was so still, Legolas feared for a moment that he was dead, but then he saw the faint rise of his chest.

'Thank the Valor,' he thought silently. Ascal was deathly pale, buried under a slight coating of snow. Blood stuck the dark locks to his head, turning the whiteness around it a deep crimson.

"He did not wake as you did. I believe Morwen may have hit him too hard. Pathetic really. I did not think elves were that fragile." Morwen. Legolas tucked that name away, knowing he would kill that man first for striking his brother.

"Who are you?" The man released his hold on Legolas, who slumped down slightly now that his weakened body was forced to hold his weight, and stood up.

"I am Hundar, King of Beladge." Legolas' eyes widened in horror.

"Yes," Hundar smiled, seeing the prince's reaction. "You killed many of my men. Drove them into the abysmal mountains to freeze. And you and your brother will pay for what you have done."

Now Legolas was really and truly terrified. Hundar lunged forward and hauled Legolas to his feet by his hair. The elf bit down on his lip to keep from crying out.

The man tossed him towards Ascal, where he fell to his knees as he was unable to catch his fall.

"You will be carrying your brother from here on. My men need to conserve their strength. If you try to run, we will catch you and kill your brother slowly. Get up! We head out now!"

Now that he was closer, Legolas could see the true state of Ascal. He was even paler than Legolas first thought, and sweat beaded his pale brow despite the frigid temperature. Blood covered half of Ascal's face, and Legolas wiped it away gently.

"Ascal," he whispered quietly. A sharp kick slammed into his side, sending him falling face first into the snow.

"I said we leave now, elf. Now get up," Hundar sneered.

"I cannot carry him whilst my hands are bound!" he retorted angrily.

"Well you better think of something fast or we will drag him by his hair!" Never before had Legolas felt such hatred towards a man. He turned away from Hundar, contemplating how he could carry his brother.

Slowly, he picked up his brother tied hands and settled the arms around his neck. Standing slowly under the burden, he settled Ascal onto his back, holding his brother's hands to prevent himself from being strangled.

Thanking valor once again for Ascal's forethought to put on his cloak, he settled the thick garment around his brother's shaking form.

He only staggered once, his elven grace affected by his own injury, before he caught his balance. A push from behind almost sent him back into the snow.

Gritting his teeth against his pounding head, men surrounding him from all sides, he started trudging through the deep snow.

_=()=_

Ok, so Beladge. The g is pronounced like the one in ridge. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.