Estel awakened the next morning refreshed and ready to head south to investigate the strange appearances of the men from Rhun and Harad.

When he joined Halbarad he was greeted by four short words: "The elf is gone."

Estel's eyes widened in disbelief. He'd known it! He'd just known that Legolas would leave.

"We searched the area for him but he's no where to be found."
Halbarad informed him.
"Good ridance I say."
Brion said stomping over to the two men.

"Having an elf around is a bad idea."
Brion continued.
"And I never trusted it in the first place."

Estel sighed and gripped both sides of his head in exasperation. What was he supposed to do? Elrond and Gandalf had trusted him to keep Legolas from leaving, and now he was gone.

"Do you want to try looking for him?"
Halbarad asked.
"If your men could not find him earlier how am I supposed to?"
Estel snapped.

Personally he was glad that the elf was gone. Then again he was worried about the elf's well
being.

"You and I can go search for
him."
Estel said finally. Turning to Brion he added, "You and Fornil can come as well."

Brion scowled but didn't argue. He stalked away to find Fornil and inform him of their assignment.

"Why do you want to bring Brion along?"
Halbarad asked curiously.
"I heard that he has been causing you trouble lately. I want to see if he would act the same way around me."

"His attitude hasn't changed that's for sure."
"I just want to know if he would present any kind of danger to the rest of us. Brion is too eager to jump into battle and he does not hold the same respect for life that the others do."

"That is why I have not allowed him to have control over his own men. He would not concern himself with their safety as you or I would."

Estel nodded and the two ended their conversation as Brion and Fornil arrived.

"It's strange that he would leave after being here for only a day."
Fornil commented.
"It's almost as though he never wanted to be here in the first place."

Estel said nothing as he led the three men out of the camp and into the forest.

Unaware of the danger they were walking towards.

»»»»

The four Dunedain searched every tree, every cave, everything that could searve as a hiding place.

Estel searched for any signs of where the elf had gone but there were none.

It's impossible to find an elf that does not want to be found.

"Should we continue searching or are you going to accept that the elf is gone?"
Brion called from where he stood beside a stream.

"We have been searching for awhile."
Halbarad told him.
"Perhaps he only went hunting and is now back at camp."

"While we waste our time out here in the cold."
Forlin wrapped his cloak tighter around himself.
"At least spring is almost upon us. I cannot bare this winter any longer."

"I thought that a brave, strong Ranger such as yourself would not be bothered by the cold."
Estel pointed out with a smirk.

Forlin narrowed his eyes at him.
"Normally I'm not. But this winter is even harsher than the last. They seem to be growing longer and colder every year."

In a way Forlin was right, the winters had seemed especially long as of late.

Does that mean something? Or are we worrying for no reason?

Halbarad suddenly stiffened. His eyes narrowed as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"What is it?"
Estel asked coming to stand beside him.
"Men, they are surrounding us."

Brion and Forlin came and stood beside the two other Rangers. All had their hands ready to draw their swords, save Forlin who had a bow.

The men appeared out of the shadows with drawn bows pointed straight at them.

"Don't move! Or we'll shoot."
One of the men warned as he pulled back on his bowstring.

The man who had just spoken widened his eyes in surprise.
"Oy Jakov! Look who it is."

The man, Jakov, emerged from the group of men. His eyes landed on Estel and he grinned.

"Why hello there. I was not expecting to see you again so soon. Did I not tell you that I would be back?"

So this was the man who had threatened him the night. The man that was hunting Legolas.

"And you brought some friends with you."
Jakov continued.
"The more we bring in the better. Right boys?"

The men shouted their agreement while Halbarad leaned close to Estel and whispered, "Slavetraders?"

Estel nodded while next to him Brion and Forlin were bristling in anger, they had heard what Halbarad said and what Estel had confirmed.

"Here's what is going to happen,"
Jakov began,
"You four are going to hand over your weapons, allow us to bind you, and take you all on a little "trip" Understand?"

"Make me; you worthless pile of orc dung."
Forlin spat.
Jakov glared at the young Ranger then signaled to one of his men with a dip of his head.

Forlin cried out in pain as an arrow struck him in the shoulder. He staggered and would have fallen onto his knees if Estel hadn't caught him.

"If any of you three speak then the same thing will happen to you."
Jakov announced. Shifting his gaze to Forlin he added, "And if you open your mouth again you will die. Understand?"

Forlin's eyes shot daggers at the smirking man.
"We're wasting time here. Let's get them bound and ready to travel."

Several men moved forward with ropes, there appeared to be almost thirty men in total.

The men grabbed Estel and the others and roughly tied their hands behind their backs.

Jakov walked over to Estel and looked him straight in the eye.
Estel hadn't been able to get a good look at the man the first time they had met.

Jakov was a tall burly man. He had dark auburn hair and cruel, brown eyes.

For a moment the man didn't speak, when he did he asked the last thing Estel wanted to hear.

"You never answered my question that night. Where is the elf you were sent to find? Surely you've found him by now."

This statement caused Halbarad and Brion to look at Estel curiously. Forlin couldn't care less about what was going on, the pain in his shoulder was becoming unbearable.

"I'm waiting."
Jakov crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.
"I do not know where he is."
Estel refused to say anything other than that.

"I think you're lying. My men said that they saw the two of you traveling together, now tell me where he is and I promise that I won't hurt your friends."

"The elf was with us and then he left. We do not know where he is now."
Estel awaited Jakov's reaction. Which was him backhanding Estel in the face, causing him to stumble.

"Fine, don't tell me. You will only make things worse for you and your friends."

"What is the elf to you? Why do you seek him?"
Brion asked, not caring if he would be shot by an arrow.

Jakov glanced at Brion curiously. "That elf owes me his life."
Jakov said tightening his fists in anger.
"He killed nearly all of my men and freed all of my hard-earned captives. I will find him and I will make sure that he pays for what he did."

"I wish you the best of luck in finding him."
Brion said causing Estel, Halbarad, and even Fornil to look at him as if he had gone mad.

"Hmph."
Was all Jakov said as he ordered his men to lead their prisoners away.

"What do we do now?"
Halbarad whispered into Estel's ear.
"I don't know."
Estel whispered back.
"All we can do for now is wait for an opportunity to escape."

»»»»

Estel watched for any sign of another Ranger as they were led through the forest, but to his dismay he found none.

They continued on for hours, not stopping until long after nightfall.

That was when Jakov ordered a small fire to be made and the prisoners to be guarded.

The four were seated on the ground next one another beside a large tree.

Estel cast a worried glance in Forlin's direction, the Ranger's face was pale and his shoulder was dark with blood.

How he had managed to survive this long with an arrow stuck in his shoulder was beyond Estel.

"Do you want him to die?"
Estel challened Jakov as he walked by.
"If he dies you will lose wealth that you could have gained."

Estel hated using the fact that Jakov was planning to sell them as slaves in order to save Forlin's life. He soon found that his efforts were in vain as Jakov began laughing.

"Who cares if he dies? I still have three of you. You'll do just fine."
As Jakov stalked away Estel glanced nervously at Forlin, his anger was overcome by fear that the younger man would die.

"What did Jakov mean when he said that you were sent to find the elf?"
Halbarad asked quietly.

Estel sighed.
"I do believe that now is not the time to be discussing matters like this."

"I say hang the elf."
Brion muttered.
"It's his fault that we're in this mess. If we hadn't been wasting our time looking for him we would be back at camp with the others. Not prisoners of a mad man."

None of them responded as they watched Jakov's men settle for the night. Two of them were standing guard near the prisoners. Their backs were to them and they occasionally threw quick glances their way but that was it.

They are quite over confident. They don't believe that we will manage to escape.

Estel sighed and leaned back against the tree. Would they be able to escape? Or would Forlin die and they hauled off to Rhun or Harad and be sold off as slaves?

What is these were the men Halbarad had reported to him? What if there were more?

Estel felt something touching his wrists. He shifted and tried to move them away from whatever was trying to grab him.

"Stop moving."
A voice whispered in elvish.
"Legolas?"
Estel whispered in surprise.
"Do not speak, I am going to cut you free."

Estel could tell that Legolas was about to cut his bonds but quickly stopped him.

"Do not worry about me. Get Forlin away and back to the others, he is wounded and dying."

Estel hoped that the elf would listen to him and take Forlin but before the elf could say anything one of the guards noticed Legolas standing behind Estel.

"Hey! There's another one!"
The men were on their feet in a moment and had their weapons drawn.

"Run!"
Estel's command went unheeded as Legolas took out his bow and nocked an arrow.

He fired at the man who had alerted everyone of his presence and the arrow struck him in the thigh.

The man gasped in pain while his companion fired his own arrow at Legolas.

Legolas easily dodged the arrow and ran away from Estel and the others, who were now aware of his presence.

Legolas continued to fire arrows at the men until it became to crowded to use his bow.

He switched to the twin knives Elrond had given him before they had left Rivendell and began attackting the men.

Estel watched the elf in amazement. His hood was still covering his head but Estel could recognize the deadly, yet graceful way that elves fought.

But he had never seen an elf fight like this, Legolas was untouchable. None of the men could get near him, some were afraid to.

Out of the corner of his eyes Estel noticed Jakov grab Forlin by the hair and jerk his head up, he then placed a knife at the man's neck.

"If you don't surrender he dies!"
Jakov's voice rang loud and clear over the noise of the battle.

Estel's skin paled at Jakov's threat. Legolas had stopped fighting and was watching the man from under his hood.

"Drop your knives."
Jakov ordered.
"And any other weapons you have."

Estel held his breath, wondering what Legolas would do.
To his surprise the elf dropped his knives onto the ground. He slid his bow and quiver off of his back and set them on the ground.

He then removed to hunting daggers from his belt, two throwing knives that had been strapped to his thighs, and finally a small dagger that he had hidden in his boot.

The men retrieved the weapons and stared at them in amazement.

"Jakov! It's him! It's the elf!"
Jakov's eyes widened and his grip tightened on Forlin.

"Don't just stand there! Bind him!"
The men quickly grabbed some rope and proceeded to tie the elf's hands behind his back.

As an added messure they wrapped even more rope aroud his chest, completely pinning hid arms to his side.

They pulled off his hood revealing a calm, but angered glare that was directed at Jakov.

"Bring him over here!"
Jakov ordered.
The men marched Legolas over to their leader; who had a look of complete contempt on his face.

Once they were right in front of each other Jakov released Forlin who fell onto the ground with a dull thud.

Estel feared that he was dead, until he noticed the faint rising and falling of Forlin's chest.

"It's been a long time elf."
Jakov smiled as if greeting an old friend.
"Not long enough."
Legolas narrowed his eyes at the man.

"I was hoping you would be dead before I passed through these lands again."

Jakov chuckled.
"You elves and your immortality. If you wanted time and age to take me then you should have stayed out of these lands."

Tilting his head curiously to the side Jakov asked,
"Why did you come here Legolas? You could have avoided this if you had stayed away."

Legolas refused to speak anymore.
"Fine have ave it your way. What you say doesn't matter to me, you belong to me once again."

Jakov grabbed the elf by the neck and pulled him closer, preventing the elf from breathing.

"And this time you won't be escaping."
He added in a lower tone of voice.

Jakov shoved Legolas backwards where several men grabbed him to prevent him from struggling.

"Now as long as we're all up and about let's continue shall we?"
The men didn't disagree as they hauled Estel, Halbarad, and Brion to their feet.

One of the men grabbed Forlin who moaned in protest.
"Not him."
Jakov said.

He approached Forlin and rolled him onto his back.
"He's too weak to bring with us."
Jakov drew a knife from his belt and raised is over his chest.

"No!"
Estel screamed as he plunged the knife into Forlin's heart.
Forlin gasped as his eyes rolled back into his head.

He shuddered and gave one last breath before he was still. Estel shouted in rage and threw himself at Jakov.

Two men grabbed him and held him back. Jakov cleaned the blood from his knife and smirked at Estel.

"Believe me, he is better off dead then alive where you are going."
Estel glared at the man while tears of anger and gried filled his eyes.

Behind him Halbarad and Brion were feeling the same emotions, except Brion's was purely anger instead of sorrow.

Legolas' gaze was unreadable as he stared at the dead body. He had been too young, far too young to die.

"Enough standing around, let's go."
Jakov led his men and their prisoners away from the place where Forlin's body lay.

Alone and cold in unforgiving winter night.