{}«Legolas' POV»{}

My horse, Rain, points her ears in the direction of the door of the stables. She tosses her head back and utters a neigh as Thaladir appears in the doorway with his horse, Aglar, following close behind him.

"Are you ready?" Thaladir asks me.

I strap the last bag to Rain's back and smooth out the blanket on her back, before jumping on her. Thaladir follows suit and we head out. We do not need reins or saddles as they will bear us wherever we need to go without them.

We start out only to be stopped by a voice coming from behind us. I turn to see it's Elhael; she is the head healer of my adar's court and has always treated me with genuine kindness. "Legolas! Thaladir!" she calls again and runs up to us.

"Elhael is something wrong?" I ask, halting Rain.

She laughs, "No, I only wanted to give you this." She pulls a bag out of the basket she carries. "It's just a little something for the road. I know how much you both like honey glazed rolls."

"Hannon le," I say with a smile, leaning down to take the bag and softly plant a soft kiss on her cheek. "We will be back within a few weeks."

"Stay out of trouble, both of you!" She calls as we ride out.

The day passes swiftly and evening soon comes upon us. As the moon rises, we stop for the night for a few hours and then as the sun peeks over the horizon, we start out again. Several days pass by us in this manner.

"We should hopefully be there within a fortnight," I comment one evening as I take off the bag off Rain's back and turn her loose. Thaladir does the same to Aglar. They won't wander far and will come at our call.

"You are distracted mellon," Thaladir says with a slight smile.

I look at him slightly confused, "Why do you say that?"

"Because I already said when we would be there," he says, dumping his bag on the ground.

I think back, as I start to gather wood for a fire, but I cannot recall him saying anything.

"What is on you mind?" he finally asks after we had eaten.

"Nothing. I'm fine," I answer but Thaladir is not convinced.

He picks up a stick and feeds it to the fire, "It would have anything to do with the letter lord Aragorn sent you would it?"

I stare at him in disbelief. How did he know?

"You really shouldn't mutter to yourself mellon nin," he says with a smile, answering the question in my mind. "It could get you into serious trouble in the future."

I sigh and lay my bed roll out on the ground, "Something doesn't feel right about it."

"Well, it is to late to turn back now," he says, spreading out his own bed roll. "Not to mention, he would have said if something were amiss."

"You're probably right," I sigh, stretching out on the ground. Maybe I am over thinking it. Still, I can't shake this uneasy feeling that has settled in me.

The sun sets and the timid stars show themselves. We decide once again against a fire. Thaladir eventually dozes off but I can't rest so I begin to pace. Why did Aragorn ask me to meet him if he was coming anyway? And why did he not say anything to my adar?

The sound of shouting arouses me from my thoughts and I turn in the direction of the sound. I see nothing but the scattered trees and some brush. I start to scan the area. Movement catches my eye. I move towards my bow and shake Thaladir at the same time. He sits up,

"Wha-" He starts but I motion for him to be quiet and point into the woods. He grabs his bow and I draw mine. The woods is quiet. Neither of us see any movement. I begin to think I am just paranoid. I lower my weapon as nothing came into view.

I walk forward, Thaladir follows directly behind me covering my back. We walk without a sound several paces away from camp. Voices catch my ears again but they are too far ahead to understand. Thaladir is already on the move.

The smell of smoke soon fills my nose as the voices grow more distinct. Orcs! I look at Thaladir to see that he has come to the same conclusion. The trees in this part of the forest are old and large. We scale one and move from branch to branch towards the camp.

At least twenty or so Orcs are gathered around a freshly started fire. Most of them are eating Valar knows what.

"I don't see why we have to be the ones to do this job," One Orc complained, slurping something out of a pot.

"The Master wants that elf and someone has to get him," Another Orc hisses. "Besides, you heard the Master didn't you? We get to play with whoever is with him!" At this both Orcs grinned, showing their yellowed teeth.

There is a pause before one of them stands up. "Do you smell that?" He sounds almost excited. He sniffs the air again, "Elves."

I curse at my thoughtlessness. Of course they would be able to catch our scent! Thaladir and I dare not move. Orcs can see well in the dark as they spend most of their time in it.

The others stand up and begin to sniff the air, walking towards the tree Thaladir and I are perched in. My heart hammers in my chest and I glance at Thaladir. We share a slight nod of understanding before slowly backing further into the trees, leaping from one to another. Shouts come from behind. We don't leap to the ground until we come into sight of our camp.

"They won't be far behind." Thaladir says, gathering his things. "We had better get out of here before we find ourselves trapped and outnumbered."

Our horses walk up to us just as Orcs appear from behind. It is all I can do to jump on Rain before she bolts. Arrows fly, barely missing me. I draw an arrow and fire back, Thaladir does the same as we both trust our horses to run away from the danger without our guidance.

A cry comes from beside me and I whip my head around to see Thaladir hit the ground, an arrow in his shoulder. Aglar takes off away from the danger. Rain, seeing him run, rears up and bolts after him. I slide off her and continue to shoot from the ground. Orcs surround us. They close in as I move towards Thaladir who has regained his footing. He shoots an Orc despite his wound. An Orc moves up behind me, I turn and stick an arrow through its skull. Ripping it out, I load the arrow and turn back to Thaladir. I freeze. An Orc has a knife to my captain's neck. "Drop your weapons or he dies!" I dare not move.

Thaladir looks at me. "Legolas! Get out of here! Leave m-" He is cut off as the blade is pressed unto his skin, drawing blood. My heart pounds.

"I said drop your weapons!" The Orc screams and pushes the blade in deeper. I have no choice but to set down my weapons. The Orc pulls the blade from Thaladir's neck and shoves him into the dirt. Another Orc stands over him with a spear ready to be thrust into his chest if I don't corporate.

They come behind me and yank my hands behind my back. "We were expecting to have to hunt you down." The Orc hisses in my ear. His hot breath blows on the side of my face and I stiffen a shutter as he pulls my hands behind my back. "The Master will be glad to have you so soon." A deep laugh comes from within him. My chest tightens and my mouth becomes dry. Who is their Master?

They push me back in the direction of their camp and force Thaladir to his feet. He gasps in pain as they tie his hands behind his back.

We are marched to the camp where they then shove us into the ground.

"Tie this one up!" One yells, picking me back up and throwing me into the arms of another one.

An Orc walks over to Thaladir and stands over him. "What about this one? The master doesn't need him does he?" The Orc licked his lips.

"That's right! We can have fun with him!" Another one said, joining his companion. They started to pick him up, "Tie him up too!" The leader yelled, "We will have our fun with him later."

I am roughly lead into the camp where they tie my hands behind a tree. Thaladir is picked up and they drop him next to the tree beside me, tying him in the same manner as myself. The shaft of the arrow had broken off leaving the head still undoubtedly buried in his shoulder, blood continues to ooze from the wound, darkening the color of his leather armor. The Orcs soon leave and I lean over to talk to my friend. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." He answers, but I know he's lying. "Are you injured?"

"No," I answer, "but we had better figure out a way out of this before morning." I start to work at the rope. It's tight and my wrist become raw quickly.

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Morning comes slowly and my wrist are now bleeding. I had talked Thaladir into getting some sleep but now he is beginning to stir. I continue to work my hand out of the ropes. This time, my hand starts to slide through and after several antagonizing moments, my hand slips free. It doesn't take long for me to loosen my other one.

Looking around, I see that most of the camp is asleep. I silently crawl over to Thaladir who is now fully awake. I start to untie the ropes but something stops me. I turn around, standing there is the Orc leader. He points his sword at my throat. "Wake up boys!" He cries to the entire camp. "Looks like this one needs to be taught a lesson!"

My heart rate quickens as I'm backed against the tree again. The ropes are tied tighter than before, cutting off circulation. They leave me and untie Thaladir. He lets out a cry when his arm is violently jerked forward.

Realization dawns on me, they are going to beat him and make me watch. I struggle to get out of the ropes as they drag him several yards away from me. Thaladir refuses to meet my gaze. "No!" I find myself yelling but no matter what I say, they ignore me. The helplessness of our situation starts to set in and I am filled with dread.

I watch in horror as two Orcs hold my friend up while another raises a whip. I close my eyes and wait for the first blow to break into my friend's back.

The thunk of an arrow hitting its target causes me to open my eyes. Chaos erupts in the camp as they look for the shooter. More arrows rain down followed by fifteen of so swordsmen bursting through the trees. I recognize their armor. They bear the symbol of the white tree. Hope fills me as the Orcs are overcome.

I pull at the ropes. Suddenly they snap free and out from behind me comes Aragorn with his sword drawn. I start forward but he grabs my arm and holds me back. I shoot him a glare before the sound of arrows hitting their target draws my attention back to Thaladir. The Orcs that held him captive now lay in a pool of dark blood that continues to spill from the holes in their skulls. Thaladir wavers in his stance. I rush forward, catching him before he falls to the ground, blood continues to flow from his aggravated wounds.

Aragorn slays the few Orcs that come our way as I help Thaladir away from combat.

"We must make for the road." Aragorn said. "Our camp is not far from there."

"How did you find us?" I ask Aragorn when we had gotten far enough away.

"One of the men on watch heard commotion, we figured there was an Orc camp nearby so we went to destroy it. That's when I saw you and your friend."

We arrive at the camp and Aragorn immediately tends to Thaladir's wounds, pulling out the arrow head that was indeed still lodged in his flesh.

"The wounds aren't poisoned." Aragorn states as he finishes bandaging Thaladir's neck and shoulder. He looks over to me. "How did you come into the hands of Orcs?"

I tell him what happened and he listens with keen interest. "I did not send you a letter." He states when I had finished my side of the tale. "I only sent that which I sent your adar."

"Then, who sent me this?" I pull the letter out of my pocket and hand it to him. He opens it and reads the contents.

"I don't know." He says turning it over in his hand. "But it was not me. Someone wanted you out in the open without your troops." I let his words sink in. I knew something had not been right.

"It was a ploy then, to get me out of my realm into the waiting arms of Orcs. But why? Why go through so much trouble for one elf?"

Aragorn shakes his head. "I don't know."

A/N: Rain is also a Sindarin word meaning, free or wandering.