(I hope you can all forgive me for two things. One: My TERRIBLE ending to the last chapter and Two: My late update. I’m sorry! I will make it up to all of you!)

The horses galloped along the terrain, struggling to keep the pace their riders were asking of them. They had rode without slowing, trying desperately to catch up to the army that, according to their tracks, were only hours ahead of them. Finally, they knew they had to slow their horses. They could not ask them to go any further or any faster at the moment. They both dismounted, and they both winced slightly as they did so. Legolas led his horse at a limping walk, but Aragorn, whom would normally notice, did not seem to. Aragorn’s gaze was locked forward, hiding emotion. Legolas closed his eyes and sighed, feeling this was fully his fault. He turned his thoughts to other things. He knew now his leg as not broken, though it still pained him. That was the only good news. He jumped as Aragorn finally broke the silence that they had been in since they left.
“This was not your fault, Legolas. There was nothing you could have done to stop it.”
Legolas faced Aragorn as he felt the man’s gaze on him and paused for a moment; almost feeling frozen in his friendÂ’s eyes. He knew Aragorn was speaking truth, though he did not believe it. Legolas glanced away without answering. Aragorn sighed inaudibly. The two were lost in silence for a long while, each leading their horses at a limping walk. Legolas spoke suddenly, but with no hint towards any emotion he was feeling.
“We need to ride now. The horses are rested.”
Aragorn nodded in mild agreement and both mounted their horses and took off again.

“Let go of me! Let me go!”
Eldarion struggled against his captors for the thousandth time to no avail. A sharp pain exploded across his head, causing him to become suddenly dizzy.
“SHUT UP! I swear I will kill you if I hear another word!”
To reinforce his words, his sword was placed to Eldarion’s neck threateningly.
“Got it?”
Eldarion held back a whimper of fear and nodded. The man nodded and sheathed his sword before turning to one of the men on Eldarion’s guard.
“Gag him and keep him quiet or I will kill you as well.”
Both guards nodded and in a matter of minutes a thick bit of cloth was tied across Eldarion’s mouth, keeping him from making noise even if he wanted to. All he could think about was the battle. He should have listened to his father. Because he didn’t; he was here, Legolas was dead, and he was sure his father was as well. All of this was his fault. He tightened his teeth on the foul tasting rag. His attention was drawn away from thoughts as one of the scouts approached the leader.
“We are being followed by two. An elf and a man. Both seem to be injured, but are traveling very fast.”
Eldarion’s eyes widened and he immediately glanced the way they had come before he looked back to the leader. His heart stopped as he saw him smiling.
“Head them off. The slave market will pay high prices for an elf and I bet I know who the man is…”

Legolas suddenly slowed his horse to a stop and looked to Aragorn.
“Wait.”
Aragorn stopped as well, remaining completely silent as Legolas remained so as well. Something had put the elf on alert. Legolas spoke without looking at Aragorn, his lips barely moving.
“We are being watched.”
As if an answer to his words, an arrow flew out of the bushes near them, narrowly missing Aragorn’s head. In order to avoid it, he had to dive down from his horse. Legolas, too, was off his horse and returning fire in the blink of an eye, but he knew they were outnumbered. Aragorn drew his sword and began fighting those that filed out of their hiding places, but before long, they were completely surrounded and each found themselves frozen with a blade to their throat. The men moved to Legolas first, taking his bow and tossing it to the ground as if it were nothing. They snapped the strap of his quiver and allowed it to fall, broken and useless to the ground. Arrows spilled out. They next went to Legolas’s knives. Legolas stiffened and immediately went to fight back, but it did not take the men long to have him pinned. He was on his knees, his arms held cruelly behind him and his head held up by his hair. They took his knives, throwing those to the ground beside his bow as if they were not worthy of keeping. Like trash. This angered Legolas beyond words. They forced him to stand and bound his hands behind his back before turning their gaze to Aragorn. The leader stepped forward, smiling.
“Well, well, well… I thought so… Good job, King Elessar. You found the Harad army.”
A ring of laughter sounded throughout the men but Aragorn’s gaze remained cold.
“What have you done to my son?”
The leader shook his head slowly and stepped forward, taking Anduil from Aragorn’s hand.
“You will find out. You are joining him.”
Aragorn glanced back to Legolas, whom was watching without words. The Harad leader smiled.
“Oh and your little elf friend? Now is your time to say goodbye. He will not be joining you…”
Both Legolas and Aragorn looked at the leader.
“Where will he be going?”
Aragorn asked the question without wanting to know the answer. He knew they wouldn’t let him go. The leader smiled and looked Aragorn dead on in the eye.
“Him? Don’t know exactly. After the slave market, it depends on who buys him. I believe-”
He allowed his eyes to go to Legolas and look him over critically, like a buyer may look at a horse.
“We may get a very good price for him.”
Legolas’s eyes burned with anger and he held his head high, but he stiffened visibly and his teeth clinched. The leader shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“No, no, no. We will have to work on that before we sell you. No one in their right mind would buy a headstrong slave.”
“I am no slave!”
Legolas grunted as he was forced down to his knees again. The blade of a dagger was pressed hard between his shoulder blades until blood began to stain his tunic. The leader stepped forward and drew his sword, holding it to Legolas’s neck. Legolas looked up at the leader, meeting his eyes.
“You are now.”
The words felt like an arrow to the chest. The pure truth in them.
“And should you refuse-”
He snapped his fingers and a horse was brought forward. Upon the horse was a bound and gagged Eldarion. Both Aragorn and Legolas’s eyes widened upon the sight of him.
“And should either of you refuse,” he corrected himself. “I don’t think the child will be too happy…”
Legolas clinched his teeth and sighed. But he lowered his head and his gaze. The leader smiled with satisfaction and sheathed his sword again. He lifted a hand looking to his men.
“Bind the King and place him with the child. The slave can walk.”
Aragorn tried to protest but was warned that Legolas’s, or rather in their words, the slave’s, rules applied to him as well. One wrong move could cost his son his life. In a matter of seconds, he found himself on the horse with his son. His wrists were bound and a gag kept him from talking. Eldarion rested his head on Aragorn’s shoulder choking back a sob to keep from crying in shame. He would have rather thought they were dead then have his father and Legolas with him.
Legolas, they soon found out, was tied at the wrists as well, though he was not gagged. They tied the rope that held him to the horse’s neck, forcing him to march alongside Aragorn and Eldarion. He was told, though, that if he spoke one word, then he would pay for it dearly. Aragorn could tell this was killing Legolas. The elf didn’t have to speak. There was a dull, glaze in his eyes. Not only was this Harad, the same place where he had been tortured before, but now he was a slave. The lowest form of life. Nothing more than a pack mule, forced to work until he could no longer. Legolas walked without limp now, but he also walked drone-like. Like he was sleeping, though Aragorn knew he was not. He was lost in thought if anything else.
“All will be all right,” he said. His words were muffled by the gag, but understandable. But they were also audible. A sudden snap broke the silence that hung in the air. Legolas stifled a surprised cry as the whip snapped across his back.
“I SAID YOU WERE NOT TO SAY A WORD!”
The leader stepped along side Legolas, he gaze hard and cold. Legolas stiffened in rage, but lowered his eyes and head so not to further anger the man. He did not want to put Eldarion at any more risk.
“You will need to learn to obey orders, slave. Whoever is doltish enough to buy you will not be pleased. But if no one is dumb enough to buy you… let’s just say you won’t be any better off… and neither will your ‘friends’. I suggest you listen and I hope for your sake that you are a fast learner.”
As they leader turned, Aragorn looked regretfully at Legolas. Legolas merely shook his head, indicating there was no need to be sorry. Aragorn knew he was forgiven, though that did not ease his guilt any. He knew that before long, he and Eldarion would be parted from Legolas, unless they did something. But he knew in his heart, there was nothing they could do. There was nothing to do but pray for a miracle. Legolas was now a slave, and he and Eldarion were now prisoners. What could be done?