Disclaimer, Notes and Acknowledgements: Please refer to Chapter 1

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Chapter 2 – True Intentions

“How’s the food?” Elrohir asked cheerfully, as they casually made their way back to the crowd.

“Excellent!” Leader praised the meal, with a smile. “Thank you for your kindness.”

The man stood and clasped Elrohir on the forearm, expressing his gratitude. His grip tightened painfully around the elf’s arm, and Elrohir felt something sharp penetrate his sleeves and pierce his skin. Startled, the elf hissed. Wrenching his arm away from Leader, he grasped it with his other hand. The pinprick wound started to hurt and the pain intensified with each passing second, traveling from his arm up to his shoulder and chest. His heart hammered frantically in his chest, and he knew that poison had already spread to the rest of his body. Whatever poison the man used had somehow drained all of his strength. His chest tightened as if someone was crushing him under a large piece of rock, and he could not breathe. As the world tilted dangerously, he clamped his eyes shut, trying hard not to pass out from the sickening feeling.

Elladan saw his brother’s reaction and was at his side in a flash, but before he could draw his weapon, Curly materialized stealthy beside Leader and tossed a handful of white powder at him. Elladan batted at the white mist, choking and gagging as he inhaled the fine powder. Fire exploded inside his chest and the searing pain sent him staggering sideways and crashing into Elrohir. Trying to steady himself, he groped blindly at his surroundings. His hand came to rest on Elrohir’s shoulder. He hoped that his brother would somehow stop his fall, but instead of steadying him, Elrohir, who was already weakened by the poison stumbled and sent the two of them crashing onto the ground in a tangled heap.

Elladan gasped and coughed, his lungs still trying to expel the foreign substance from his system. Before he could catch his breath, Leader kicked him hard in the stomach, and the twin gasped as new pain assailed his body. He tried to push himself up, but a boot was wedged between his shoulders, grinding him against the ground.

Elrohir was vaguely aware that was Elladan rushing to his aid when the weird sensation began to assault his senses, but he could not recall what had happened after that. All he knew was that his world had turned into a giant ball of pain, and when it subsided enough for his mind to work again, he found that he was curled up on the forest floor beside his brother. The four men surrounded them, and Leader crushed Elladan into the ground with his boot.

“Why?” Elrohir managed to choke out, but instead of answering his question, the men laughed.

“Such naive and pathetic beings,” Leader sneered and spat out a piece of bone that he had been chewing on before the fun began.“And he said elves are hard to deal with,” Scar added with a snort. “Look at them now, both groveling at our feet and at our mercy.” To stress his point, Scar kicked Elrohir hard in the chest.

Despite his effort to suppress the cry, a small whimper left the younger twin’s lips. “Ohh... I think I hurt him.” Scar grinned lopsidedly at his companions. “How sad.”

“Stop it!” Elladan shouted in a futile attempt to stop the man from hurting his brother, but his words only amused Scar further.

“Oh look, he’s asking me to stop,” the heartless man said mockingly.

“Make him beg.” Elder smirked, and Curly nodded earnestly.

“Yeah, make him beg.”

New malice shone in Scar’s eyes as he kicked Elrohir repeatedly in the chest and stomach. The dark-haired elf tried to protect himself by blocking the blows with his arms, but a pair of strong hands locked onto his wrists and pried his only defense away from his body, exposing his torso to the assault. With his only protection taken away from him, Elrohir could only draw his knees to his chest trying to make himself as small a target as possible. He gritted his teeth and took the beatings in silence, refusing to let his assailants have the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

“Beg. Elf!” Scar punctuated each word with a vicious kick.

“Please… don't hurt him…” Elladan shoved his dignity aside ruthlessly and pleaded for his brother's safety.

“Not so tough after all! And he thought we would have trouble with them,” Scar laughed and kicked Elrohir one last time just to see his face scrunched up in pain.

“All right, that's enough. It’s time to deliver our merchandise.” Releasing his foot from Elladan’s back, Leader hauled the elf up by the collar of his tunic and forced him to his feet.

“I thought you were traders!” the older twin accused, while Curly bound his hands behind his back. Although capturing the elves had not been difficult, they still did not want to risk letting them travel without restraint.

“We ARE traders,” Curly replied with a sneer as he pulled tightly on the rope causing the rough material to cut deeply into the elf’s fair skin. “We’re trading you for gold!” the man cackled and dug into his pack, removing a piece of rope. Working some knots into the rope, he fashioned a noose within seconds and threw it around Elladan’s neck. The man slid the knot tightly against Elladan’s throat, almost cutting off the elf’s air supply. Giving the rope a sharp tug, he watched in satisfaction as Elladan gasped and groaned.

While Curly was attending to Elladan, Scar gave Elrohir similar treatment. The younger twin was hitched up by the front of his tunic, his hands twisted and bound painfully behind his back. Elrohir struggled weakly, even though he knew that it would not do him any good. He ached all over, and the fire within his body continued to burn, his injured ribs making it even worse.

Elder provided Scar with another noose after the man had secured the elf. Accepting the cord with a curt nod, Scar looped it around Elrohir’s neck. After making sure that their merchandise was secure, Leader scanned the campsite. There was a lot of evidence to be left behind. His employer had specifically asked him to leave enough clues to lead the rescue party to his hideout. Furthermore, he had requested that some blood be spilled, although he did not specify how badly he wanted them to hurt the elves. All he asked for was for them to deliver the elves alive.

The leader of the mercenaries motioned for Curly to smother the campfire. Pulling out two wads of cloth from inside his tunic, he balled them up and stuffed the material into the elves’ mouth. Tilting his head towards Scar, he stepped aside as the other man advanced towards Elladan with a knife in his hand, the same knife that Elladan had offered to them for skinning the rabbit. The elf’s eyes widened when he realized what Scar was about to do. He jerked back violently as Scar drew the sharp blade across his collarbone but the rope around his neck prevented him from moving far. The cold metal on his skin sent a small shiver down his spine and the elf drew in a sharp breath as the knife cut into his skin, leaving a bloody trail in its wake.

Elrohir struggled frantically, as much as his injuries allowed, as he watched the men toy with his brother. He felt so helpless not being able to do anything and desperately wished that toying were all they were going to do. His hope was shattered when Scar plunged the knife deeply into Elladan’s shoulder.

Elladan cried out, but the rag in his mouth muffled his voice. The sudden pain sent him reeling, and he stumbled backwards as his vision blurred and light exploded inside his head. He felt someone gripping him tightly around the arms to stop him from sagging towards the ground. A muffled cry was heard, and he thought he saw Elrohir kicking and squirming violently beside him, but the younger elf was subdued when someone kneed him in the stomach.

Scar wrenched the knife out of the elf’s shoulder and smiled wickedly as blood poured out of the wound and splattered onto the grass. “Perfect,” he purred as he examined his handiwork. Wiping the blood off of the knife with his pants, he stuffed it into his pack.

“Lets get moving. Our gold is waiting for us.” Tugging on the rope around Elladan’s neck, Leader pulled the injured elf carelessly towards the forest, not caring how much pain he was in or how much blood he was losing. As long as the elf was still alive when he delivered him to his employer, everything would go as planned.

*****

TBC…