Chapter Twenty: Captive

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"My feet hurt," Robin grunted, glaring at the ground.

Beside him, Legolas didn't make a sound-- he hadn't, not since they'd been shackled and forced to follow behind the caravan of desert men. But he did look mildly annoyed.

"I'm hungry too," Robin muttered. "And it's hot."

"Estel and Aria are unconscious in a cage and the only thing you can worry about is your feet and stomach?" Legolas finally spoke, whisper-hissing the words so their captors couldn't hear. Robin blinked at the venom in his voice, gazing at the elf.

"I mean... kind of?"

Legolas muttered a curse in elvish, which made Robin raise his brows. The sudden language coming from the elf was surprising.

It was quiet for a moment.

"So," Robin hesitated before trying again, keeping his voice low. "Do we have a plan of escape yet? Because I can't pull off servant clothes. They don't highlight my curves very well."

"Shut... up... Hood."

"Is that a no?"

Legolas clenched his jaw, face going tight. He didn't say a word, only stumbled behind the horse as the rider nudged the steed a little faster. 

Robin grunted, almost tripping over his own feet. "Great."

The Easterlings who had taken off after the others still had yet to return, which didn't make him feel any better. They'd been walking for hours and both Aragorn and Aria had yet to return to consciousness-- Robin didn't know if he envied them for getting pulled or was worried.

He figured he should feel worried. But his feet disagreed.

He'd promised Arwen he'd watch her husband's back. Faintly, Robin remembered that much. Glancing up, he furrowed his brows.

He was doing quite the bang up job.

It felt like it had been months since they'd been in Gondor, not a little over two weeks. Robin didn't realize how much he missed a nice feather bed until now, chained and forced toward the place he'd been dreading going even on his own accord.

He'd seen the slaves of Rhûn-- there were those who were sold for servitude and those sold for fighting. 

From his deal with the Easterling leader, Robin already knew he and Aragorn would be in the fighter category. Legolas could go either way-- though the desert barbarians would pay a fortune to see an elf fight in the arena. And Aria would be sold for entertainment for sure. 

She'd be their top prize, he knew that much. To see a skinchanger fight to the death would be a match that would sell for gold.

Internally, he cursed. That was the accursed secret. How had he not figured it out before?

"We need to figure something out," Robin whispered, glancing back forward. It would be at least another day's trek through the desert before they reached the outskirts of the approaching Rhûn city. Enough time to either escape or get himself killed.

He'd rather either option over being sold on the market.

"The others will be able to outrun their pursuers," Legolas murmured. This time, there was no venom in his voice. Just what sounded like faint exhaustion. "Elladan and Elrohir are master trackers and hunters. They just need to stay off the forest paths."

"Elanor was injured," Robin murmured, biting his lip. Faintly, images of her limp body between the twins flashed before his eyes.

"They'll be okay," Legolas said again. This time though, it sounded more like was convincing himself.

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