Legolas glimpsed around him at his captors, trying to ascertain their location and status of awareness. All of the men seemed completely oblivious to the deadly warriors that lurked not but a quick leap away.

A pair of dark orbs bored into him, but Legolas refused to let Hundar unsettle him. He would soon be rid of that man for all eternity. The thought made him smirk before he turned back around and tensed his muscles in anticipation of the fight.

A hand grabbed his shoulder suddenly and jerked him around to face the King of Beladge.

"Why look so smug, elf? Do you know something that we know not of? You look unafraid for one being led towards his greatest nightmare." Legolas shrugged the filthy hand off of him and squared his shoulders bravely.

They stared at one another for some time, neither backing down to the other. With each passing second, Hundar became more and more enraged. His face contorted in fury and turned the darkest of reds while the Mirkwood Prince continued to stare back calmly.

All of the men had stopped to watch their captive launch a battle of the wills with their King.

Somewhere, a twig snapped. All eyes swung towards the source of the noise, breaking the standoff between the elf and the man.

Hundar snarled as all the pieces of the puzzle came together.

A second later, elves leaped out of the bushes with a cry; everything erupted into chaos.

Men drew their swords and rushed the elves head-on. Arrows shot down from unseen opponents hidden in the barren trees.

Legolas sprinted in the other direction as the battle, intent on getting Ascal to safety.

Suddenly, Ascal was violently jerked from his back, sending Legolas sprawling backwards with him as the arms around his neck caught his slender column of flesh.

Legolas came down hard on his brother, and he immediately scrambled to get up and face the opponent that brought him to the ground.

Hundar's face was a brilliant shade of purple as he rested the apex of his sword against Ascal's unprotected throat, freezing the Prince instantly.

"Call off your men or I will spill his life onto the snow," Hundar snarled. Legolas hesitated, his mind working furiously to come up with a plan that would allow them both to escape unscathed.

Hundar's wrist twitched, drawing a thin line of blood from Ascal's neck.

"Daro!" he cried out desperately. The elves stopped at the command and stared at their Prince in utter bewilderment. They outnumbered the men and they were winning.

The sight that met their eyes was haunting. Legolas' head was bowed, shoulders shaking with silent fury. Hundar smiled maliciously and stepped towards him. A man took his place and laid his sword against the unconscious bartering tool.

Hundar sauntered behind the quivering elf, disgusting sneer still firmly on his lips.

He leaned in close enough that Legolas could feel his hot breath wafting against his neck as he spoke.

"Bow before me." Legolas cringed and shook his head firmly. A booted foot caught him firmly behind the knees, sending him crashing ungracefully into the snow.

A foot pressed against his head, keeping it held against the biting snow. Some elves went to rush and defend their Prince, but he held up his hand before they could do anything that would forfeit Ascal's life.

Hundar bent down and pressed his knee into Legolas' back and wound his fingers in the elf's blonde locks, wrenching the head back cruelly.

"Look at them, Prince," he spat. "Watch them as they see you wallow where you belong. At my feet like a dog." Legolas closed his eyes, and ground his teeth to keep him from jumping up and killing the adan. He would bear this for his brother. For Ascal.

Something cold touched his foot, making the limb involuntarily jerk away from it.

Hundar quickly flipped him over onto his back and settled the knee into his soft belly, delivering a brutal slap to the Prince's face that effectively stilled his struggles.

"You will think twice before trying to escape me again," he growled. One of the men stepped forward with a device Legolas had never seen in all his long years of life and settled it onto his battered bare foot again.

The cold feeling of metal pressing into the sole of his foot brought him out of his dazed stupor, and he struggled anew; to no avail. Hundar was too strong, using his knee to dig into the elf's belly whenever he thought needed.

Legolas flailed wildly until someone caught his arms and legs and pinned them to the snow. He managed to crane his head around the King kneeling on him and saw the strange contraption.

Two pieces of metal were connected on either ends to a screw with a crank on one end. The moment one of the men turned the crank, Legolas' face darkened with horror.

They were going to break his foot. The metal tightened painfully.

Another crank had him gritting his teeth from the pain. Two more and he threw his head back into the snow, twisting it in agony.

Crank.

A sharp snap wrenched through the frigid air, drowned out by Hundar's maniacal laughter. Legolas went white as the fresh powder around him, eyes opened wide in shock.

He could faintly hear the elven warrior's cry of outrage. No! He had to keep Ascal safe. He would do anything to get that sword away from his brother.

"No! Do not come any closer," he ground out. "Go. Go back to Mirkwood." Legolas heard nothing indicating the elves heeded his order.

"Now!" he snapped. There was a pregnant pause then the near-silent shuffling of elven feet on the snow.

"Tell your King the horrors in which his sons are being put through, and that if he wants them back more or less intact then he better surrender his kingdom to me." Hundar's voice followed the elves; soon all was silent.

The next crank took the Prince completely by surprise, and he somehow managing to swallow the scream before it sprang forth from his lips.

He would not give his captors the pleasure of hearing him scream.

Legolas had no idea how many more times they cranked the device. He laid there and bore it in silence, sweat running off of his face and eyes screwed shut.

He tasted blood and realized he had bitten his tongue.

Suddenly, the pressure was relieved and his body was released. He made no attempt to get up. Hundar grunted and bent down, his face hovering inches above his own.

"If you try another escape, we will beat your brother to a bloody pulp, and make you watch." Though the words sounded like they came from far away, the message was clear.

Legolas could not attempt escape again if Ascal was to come out of this alive.

_=0=_

Daro: Stop

Adan: Man

Sorry for the long wait guys. I've been doing a lot of school related things I had to get done and I've been working on both stories in my free time. This is actually the first time I have had to sit down and do nothing. The other story is currently getting checked by my beta and I will have it out soon. Hope it was worth the wait. Thanks for all the reviews!