Karock walked around camp, ordering his men around until he sat down by a newly made fire. Aragorn noticed one of the men talking to Karock and then moving towards him. The man held rope in his hands. Aragorn frowned and watched the man to see what he would do.

When the guy was closer, he explained to Aragorn, "Boss says for me to tie you up for the night so you don't try an escape...so sit down against that tree behind you." He instructed.

Aragorn sighed and glanced around. There would be too many men to fight... Maybe he could knock this man out and escape...? Aragorn quickly decided against it. If the plan failed, Legolas would be in a lot of pain in a couple of hours.

"Alright." He agreed reluctantly. Aragorn put his back facing the tree, but not leaning all the way against the tree. It was very slight, and Aragorn hoped the man would not notice.

Aragorn smiled to himself. Now he was making progress. He looked around the camp and located a small dagger strapped to a horse. 'I'll have to take a horse if I'm going to escape.' He thought to himself. Aragorn made sure to not let the men see that his ropes were loose. When the men had gone to sleep, Aragorn checked for any sentries. He noticed one man who was still awake, but the man looked sleepy. After a few minutes, Aragorn thought the man looked asleep and struggled out of his ropes. He stealthily crept over to the horse and calmed it. Aragorn climbed onto the horse and tried to quietly ride the horse out of camp.

Unfortunately, the horse snapped a dry twig on the ground, waking the man who was sleeping. He shook his eyes open and seeing Aragorn, exclaimed an alarmed cry. Aragorn wasted no time and galloped away, but not before the man had yelled at the other men that the prisoner was escaping. They climbed on their horses and galloped off where Aragorn had gone. Aragorn, breathing hard and leaning flat against the horse, urged it to it's full speed. He tried his best to guide the horse to where the camp was. With the broken arm he held onto the horse's reigns and with the other he unsheathed the knife. He would need to cut Legolas free when he got there.

Meanwhile, Legolas and tried to stay awake, but he was losing consciousness from losing so much blood. His eyes fluttered close soon after and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

When Aragorn thought he saw the camp ahead, he slowed his horse. He knew that he was on a very limited time-line. Aragorn dropped his horses reigns and crept towards the camp. When he arrived, he quickly located Legolas and gaped as he saw his friend's wound. 'Probably my fault.' He grimaced. Aragorn made his way around to the back of the tree and put his hand around Legolas' mouth so he wouldn't make a noise. Legolas' eyes shot open and he instantly struggled out of panic. In his delirious state, his mind couldn't think through what was going on.

"Be still!" Hissed Aragorn, "It's me! Get up!" Aragorn used the knife and cut the elf's ropes quickly. Legolas stilled, but made no move to get up. He shook his head, desperately trying to clear away the confusion. Aragorn's voice barely broke through to him. Aragorn sighed, realizing that Legolas was confused because of loss of blood. Without hesitating, Aragorn slung the elf over his shoulder and ran into the woods. When he got to the horse he realized his dilemma. Setting Legolas down, he commanded Legolas, "Get on the horse." Legolas managed to comprehend what Aragorn said and climbed on. His vision was fuzzy so he rubbed his eyes, trying to see around him. For being an elf with excellent vision, he was not enjoying the blurriness that was happening to him. Aragorn clambered on the horse after the elf and urged the horse to run as fast as he could. The horse obeyed and none too soon. Behind them, four or five horses galloped into the camp.

"We're looking for the prisoner." Were the last words Aragorn heard, before the horse carried them out of hearing distance.  

Karock stamped up to Kendara and demanded to know where the elf was. He was not happy at all. Both of his prisoners had escaped and with injuries too! They were definitely doing more than searching for their 'mother'.

Aragorn kept the horse at a gallop until they were way out of the men's reach. Then, Aragorn slowed the horse to a light jog. He turned back towards Legolas, "Legolas? Are you alright?" He asked the elf.

Legolas quietly answered, "...Yes...I think so..." He paused to take a deep, painful breath, "...just...need sleep..." His head lolled to the side as he became dizzy. His body tipped to the side of the horse, no longer able to remain upright.

Aragorn steadied the elf with his good arm.
"Legolas, sleep." He commanded and then remembered Legolas' wound. Aragorn ripped part of his tunic off as a make shift bandage and tied it around Legolas' wounded arm. The arm had stopped bleeding momentarily. Legolas quickly complied and drifted off once again into an uneasy rest.

As Aragorn tended to his wound, the men searched frantically for them. Suddenly, two men burst through the tree line and headed for Aragorn and Legolas, swords drawn. They had spotted they escaped prisoners.

Aragorn shook Legolas awake and urged the horse into a gallop. 'We had better out run them, or we have no chance.' He thought to himself. An idea occurred to him. 'Maybe we could make it...' He considered the possibilities and decided they would have to try it. Aragorn changed the horse's direction a little, and urged it to go even faster towards the edges of Mirkwood. The men pushed their horses even faster, determined to catch them. One slowed down suddenly and pulled out a crossbow. He armed it and lifted his arm, aiming it towards the runaway men. With a flick of his finger, the arrow was sent through the arrow and struck. Missing Aragorn and Legolas, it hit the horse and it toppled over, throwing Legolas off and trapping Aragorn under it.

"Legolas!" Aragorn screamed, "Run! I'll be fine! They'll use me as leverage! Get help!"

Legolas pushed himself to stand and heard Aragorn's cries. He ran over to his friend, ignoring his command to leave. "Aragorn, I'm not going to leave you." He bent down and pushed at the horse, a small cry escaped his lips as he used his injured arm.

"No!" Aragorn practically screamed at him, "Get your father!"

Legolas shook his head, "We're too far away from the realm. I can barely even see Mirkwood at all." Giving up on pushing off the horse and seeing the fast approaching men, Legolas grabbed Aragorn's sword and stood up, placing himself between Aragorn and the men.

Aragorn struggled to free himself, "No! Legolas, Run!" The horse refused to budge. Aragorn unsheathed the knife and held it ready.

When the men came closer, they jumped off their horses and neared. The one that held the cross bow, pointed it at Legolas, "Put down the sword, fool!" He shouted. "You'll only get hurt more."

Legolas tightened his stance and didn't budge. "I won't leave you, Aragorn." He promised. Smoothly, Aragorn threw the knife at the man. It landed straight in his chest.

The man gasped and looked down at his chest. Stumbling forward a few steps, he fell over and landed on his crossbow, impaling himself. His comrade looked stunned for a split second before a scowled returned to his face. He instantly charged at Legolas, sword ready. Legolas brought his sword up in response and held the man back. They clashed swords, neither one making any progress. Legolas would have fended him off easily had he not been injured and delirious.

Aragorn struggled to get the horse off of him. The horse budged a little, and Aragorn kept pushing, trying to free himself. "Come on Legolas." He quietly urged the elf to success.

Legolas was just making progress against the man when he staggered a moment. The man, using this to his advantage struck at Legolas. Legolas barely managed to divert the blow, but at the cost of his footing. He slipped to the ground. The man swiftly brought the hilt of his sword down and knocked Legolas out cold.

Credits:
Evara-Aragorn
Ithildae-Legolas
Karock-Ithildae
Keldara-Evara
Evara and Ithildae-Extra characters