How he despised it, hated every waking moment. Even in sleep the situation still tormented him. For a week now, nothing had gone as planned. Things had turned bad, and then slowly grown worse. He did not even know if his companion still lived, and that pained him more than anything.

The room was dark, no windows, not even a torch to pierce the ominous shadow which could drive anyone to become claustrophobic. The walls were so close, if he simply reached out in any direction his fingers would find the cold hard stone. He was locked in a room with hardly the room to lay down, and he could hardly even imagine standing upon his own two feet. Bruised and beaten as he was, there was no escape. No one even knew they had been taken captive. Did any one realize they were missing?

Legolas closed his eyes against the pain. If he felt this bad, the prince could hardly imagine how Aragorn was fairing...

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Savior And Destroyer

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Chapter 1: The New Ered Gorgoroth.

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"Legolas! You must wait!"

The Elven prince turned to watch the human behind him. The young man climbed up the rocky incline, not once faltering, yet his steps were far more unsure than the Elf's.

"Estel, you are slowing us down. If we do not hurry, our quarry will escape us."

Aragorn stopped, sitting down upon a rock outcropping to catch his breath, "I think it already has. Besides, we have only three days rations left and Imladris is two days in the other direction. We should turn back now and forget about the deer herd."

The young man had recently reached his twentieth birthday, hardly a milestone in the terms of Elven years yet, for a human, it was a big deal. Finally Lord Elrond had allowed his youngest to leave the safe haven of Rivendell and journey outward. He had even permitted Legolas to take Estel on a hunting expedition.

They had sighted deer down in the valley, only to end up chasing them through a dark part of the Misty Mountains.

"Let us search for another day, if by then we have found nothing, then we can return." Legolas insisted, looking up into the looming mountains.

Estel sighed, "Legolas, I do not know these mountains. They are deemed dangerous even in the eyes of my father."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes, Legolas. Dangerous. Ada sent out scouts a few years back, to explore this region. Those scouts never returned."

The Elf was silent and thoughtful for a moment, "They traveled far into the mountains, did they not?"

"I believe so. Why?"

"Well, if we only travel a small fraction of the way, perhaps we shall find our quarry and avoid any danger." Legolas replied with a smile.

Aragorn shook his head, "I have a bad feeling about this, mellon nin. These mountains are desolate, something could be residing within them that has not been seen for ages."

Legolas only laughed, hauling the young man to his feet, "You worry too much, Estel. It will make you age faster. Besides, are you suggesting some new Elf bane resides in these hills? Now you are being foolish."

"We should return to Imladris."

"We should press on."

The two friends stood locked in a combat of wills, neither wishing to concede. Finally however, Aragorn sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You win. Happy now?"

Legolas smiled, turning to continue on their journey. "Very."

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'If I had only listened... none of this would have ever happened.' Legolas thought, his eyes unseeing in the darkness before him.

Suddenly, a door opened before him, a figure outlined from the torch light outside. The prince knew immediately who it was and fought back a groan. A woman entered, tall and slender, shapely by human standards. Even in the lack of light, Legolas knew she smiled as she walked. He knew she was happy with his condition, happy that she had nearly broken him beyond repair, happy that now he could not resist her commands.

"It is so lovely to have a bargaining chip, do you not agree?" her voice drifted to the Elf's delicate ears.

It made Legolas want to cringe away as he felt the malice roll off her in waves. Yet he said nothing.

The woman frowned slightly, "Remember, Elf." she spat, "If you do not abide by my wishes... your human friend will die in your place."

Knowing he could not contend with such a threat, Legolas closed his eyes. "I remember."

"Good." The woman turned, looking at the guards on either side of the door. "Get him up and his wounds dressed. I want him in a new non-tattered tunic and leggings. Make sure he is fit to serve the house."

Both guards nodded, rushing in an roughly jerking Legolas into a standing position. He fought against an outcry, his bruised ribs having been painfully jostled. The guards carried their prisoner out of the room, past the woman, and down the hall. As they passed, Legolas saw a glint of satisfaction in the woman's green eyes. They both knew that the Elf could do nothing for himself, and that brought her more joy than Legolas could even fathom.

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From an adjoining hall, a timid figure looked on. She knew that the Elf had done nothing wrong by refusing, she would have done the same thing if in his place. However, the woman also knew that her sister was cruel beyond words.

Vani sighed. She wanted nothing more than to get the Elf and his friend out of such a terrible situation, yet she could not. Going against her sister would mean her own death, she knew this with all her heart, and yet her soul cried over the fair being's treatment.

Perhaps in the afterlife, Mirial would pay for her cruelty, but in this time and place, her malice reigned supreme. It was no wonder those living within the town were calling this the new Eden Gorgoroth. For the mountain village was truly a place of evil... a place of despair.

Quietly, Vani slipped back into the shadows, fearing her sister to discover her hiding place. She had to help the Elf, she knew it, yet she did not know exactly how...

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Disclaimer: I do not own "The Lord of the Rings" nor the characters of Legolas, Aragorn/Estel, Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan, or any others related to J.R.R. Tolkien's world, as for the places of Ered Gorgoroth, Imladris, the Misty Mountains, or others. I invented The NEW Ered Gorgoroth, as well as the characters of Vani and Mirial. I wish I did own LOTRs... and Legolas... but that's another issue all together.

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Author's Note:

This story was inspired by my good friend, Merry!

We had a late night conversation about her stealing my muse, Legolas, away from me and tying him up and throwing paper airplanes at him as a torture. So, I just took everything one step further. Luckily, my muse had been returned... though I'm still trying to figure out what she's done with another muse I loaned her... Johnny Depp. He hasn't been seen for weeks now.

So, Mirial is... kinda sorta... based on that. Though beating someone to near death and throwing paper airplanes at them are two different things, it still got me to thinking.