LOOK WHO'S BACK! :D

Oh my gosh, I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated this story...and I am SO so sorry! :P I lost inspiration for this story, then I got caught up with other stories. If you follow me and all my stories, you'll see I've been updating "The Perfect Crime" a lot lately xD but, just out of the blue, inspiration came back for Hanna and Bard! :)

I know last time, I left you off on a bit of a cliffhanger, but now you need no longer wait!

Enjoy! :)

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After the Corsair pirates had abducted Hanna, they tied her hands up, gagged her and threw her into one of their rowboats once they reached the river. They boarded the boats and rowed upriver until they reached where the River Running emptied out into a larger body of water: the Sea of Rhun. Anchored a little ways out into the Sea was a massive black ship with a jagged bow and red sails. They continued to row until they reached the ship. Then they all boarded the ship, one of the pirates roughly pushing Hanna ahead of him.

"Take her down to my quarters and shackle her," Durgon, the Captain, ordered the man who was with Hanna. She was continuing to struggle against the larger man, but he was too strong and kept a firm grip on her arm. He led her down some stairs to the lower deck to a set of double doors. Inside was the Captain's Quarters, which was a large room with many eerie things on the walls: different sorts of evil-looking masks, symbols, weapons, etc. There were boxes and chests of gold and jewels scattered about the room. In the center of the room was a long mahogany table with chairs surrounding it. Near the back of the room was another door.

The larger pirate held Hanna's wrists together with one hand while he untied them with the other, then he pushed her towards a wooden pillar on the side of the room, put her arms around the pillar and locked her wrists in shackles. Then he did likewise with her feet. As he was finishing up, Durgon came strutting into the room, beaming with self-importance.

"That will be all, Borgen," said Durgon, giving the man a dismissive wave.

Borgen bowed his head and said, "Yes, Captain." Then he turned on his heel and left the room.

Durgon eyed Hanna with hunger in his eyes, which made Hanna wholly uneasy. He slowly approached her and then removed the gag from her face. Once it was taken off, Hanna gasped for breath. Durgon then abruptly ran his hand creepily down her face.

Hanna jerked her head away. "Don't you dare touch me!" she spat.

"Ooh…!" Durgon said in a tone that made Hanna even more uncomfortable. Then he grinned maliciously. "You are as feisty as you are pretty."

She gave him a displeased look. "Well then, you're going to think I'm absolutely gorgeous later on once I'm out of these irons and I can show you how feisty I can really be!" she sneered back.

Durgon clicked his tongue at her and wagged a finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk...now, now, my pet, there is no need for such talk. You will learn to love your shackles."

"I rather doubt that," said Hanna.

"Besides," he continued, "if you were to get out of your irons—which you won't because I have the key—do you really believe you'd be able to overpower all of my men on your own and escape? You're one foolish girl if you think—"

"Who said I was going to fight any of you?" she interrupted him. Then she just shrugged. "No, my plan was to get free of these chains, incapacitate you and then jump overboard."

He shook his head. "You would not get very far," he warned her.

Hanna looked at him defiantly. "You care to make a wager on that?" she asked him. Then she motioned to her wrists and feet with her head. "Unlock all these chains and I'll prove you wrong."

Durgon simply grinned and let out a light "hmph", clearly not buying into her little trick to get him to unlock her shackles. Instead he said nothing, moved away to another corner of the room. There he picked up a bucket of water and a mop and brought it over by Hanna.

He pointed to the mop and bucket. "The floors of this room are filthy." Then his voice changed to a tone of sarcastic politeness. "If you would be a dear, my pet, and mop them for me...I would be most grateful."

Hanna glared at him and replied, "I am not your 'pet'."

The Captain grinned creepily and ran a hand through her long brown hair, making her cringe. "As long as you have shackles on…." Then he grabbed her chin, turned her head to face him and, before she was able to resist, smothered her mouth sloppily with his own, making her squeak in surprise. Luckily for her, his kiss was brief and, when he pulled away, she glowered at him.

His toothy grin spread triumphantly across his face as he finished his previous statement in a snakelike tone, "You are my lovely pet...and I have wonderful plans for you…!"

With that being said, he took hold of the chain binding her wrists and unlocked them. After he took them off and tossed them on the table, he said to her tauntingly, "I'm leaving the chains on your ankles so you won't try to run, but don't worry, you should still be able to move around enough. Enjoy yourself, my dear." Then he laughed evilly at Hanna and walked out the door.

Once he was gone, Hanna ran the back of her sleeve across her mouth and groaned in revulsion. "Why is it that I get either creepy or disgusting men after me…?" she complained out loud to herself, remembering Alfrid back in Laketown. She could still feel the ghostly sensation of Durgon's wet lips on hers and she shuddered in disgust.

She went to the window and looked out. She could make out the shore of the land just a ways a way. There was a latch on the window which meant that she could open it if she wanted to and it was big enough for her to climb out of. The only issue was the chains around her feet. She wouldn't be able to swim ashore with those on even if she tried. Escape seemed just within reach, but Hanna knew that she couldn't go anywhere until she got those shackles off, which would only happen with Durgon's key.

As she lowered her hands from the window, she brushed against something hard underneath her jacket. When she looked, she saw one of the large cooking knives she had taken from home was still attached to her belt.

"Yes!" she quietly cheered. She had something she could use against Durgon when he came next. Knowing now that she had a weapon to defend herself, she began to devise a plan to get herself out of there. As she looked around the room, she remembered the chests and boxes of gold and jewels laying off to the side.

Hanna smirked coyly and thought, "I've got an idea…!"

Back on the shore, Bard, Legolas and the small Elven battalion emerged from the trees and spotted the ship out away from the shore. Trying to avoid being seen for the time being, they all crouched down behind some boulders on the shoreline.

"How are we going to get out there, hir nin?" ("My lord") one of the Elven soldiers asked Legolas.

"I do not know," he answered. "We have no boats to sail out there and, even if we did, they would see us coming." Then he turned his attention to Bard right next to him. "What do you suggest, Bard?"

"Well, the answer is simple: we have to swim across," Bard answered.

The soldier next to Legolas gave him a curious look. "Will that be possible?" he inquired.

Bard replied, "Aye, it's possible. If we get ourselves low enough beneath the surface and can get as far as we can in one breath, we should be able to get there. That and, by doing that, we should be able to climb the side of the ship."

Legolas nodded and said out loud to his soldiers, "Bard is right. Swimming to the ship is our only choice. It's the fastest way to get to the ship in time to save Hanna before anything happens to her."

Bard couldn't help but clench his fists at the thought of anything being done to Hanna. If he found her harmed in any way, he would kill every pirate on that ship!

"I will suggest one thing:" Legolas then interjected, "we must wait until sunset."

"What? Are you mad?" Bard questioned him, baffled. "The longer we wait, the more we risk the Corsairs sailing away and also hurting Hanna!"

Legolas did not answer for a moment. Instead he stared off in the distance towards the ship. Bard began to wonder what he was doing. Finally, Legolas spoke, "You need not worry, my friend. Your friend, Hanna, is perfectly safe."

Bard was puzzled. "How in the world would you know that?" he asked.

The Elf answered, "Elves have a gift of seeing great distances when we choose. I can see a window on back of the ship and Hanna is sitting by the window, staring outside. I assume that it is the Captain's quarters. It doesn't appear that there's anyone else in the room with her. I believe she is safe, for now. Sunset will be upon us soon, which will give us ideal cover to sneak to the ship. Your friend should be all right until then."

With a groan, Bard answered unsurely, "I just hope you're right."

One of the Elven soldiers suddenly cried out. When Legolas looked to him, he said something in Elvish and pointed out towards the Corsair ship. Legolas peered out and Bard looked, too, squinting his eyes. He couldn't really see anything except for some tiny splashes near the bottom of the ship.

Then Legolas said out loud, "There is a change of plans: we cannot wait until sunset."

"Why? What's going on?" asked Bard.

Legolas looked at him. "Hanna is tossing chests and boxes out of the window and into the water, for reasons obviously unknown. They are floating this way. It will only be a matter of time until anyone in the crew notices them floating away and go down to stop her."

Bard was a little astounded to hear what Hanna was doing. What on earth was she up to?

"Then we must go now!" Bard exclaimed.

"Indeed, we must," Legolas concurred. He stood and quietly gave an order to his men in the Elvish language. The soldiers began likewise sounding their compliance and stood up alongside him. Legolas turned to Bard and said, "My people will go in first. They will fend off the pirates and clear a path for you and I to the Captain's quarters."

Bard gave him a nod. "I cannot thank you and your soldiers enough for helping me," he told him gratefully.

Legolas bowed his head to him. "You are fortunate that I was nearby when the pirates came ashore," he said.

"You can say that again," said Bard. Then his expression turned to one of determination. "All right. We'd better get going."

Legolas cried out another command in Elvish to his soldiers and waved his hand towards the water. The Elves all waded out into the shallow waters one by one and then, when it was about up to their waists, did perfect swan dives into the water.

"After you," said Legolas to Bard, gesturing to the water as the last of the Elves dove underwater.

Bard removed his coat and followed suit of the Elves with Legolas right behind him. Once they were about waist-deep in the sea, they both dove down underneath the water and swam as hard as they could towards the Corsair's ship, ready for a fight.

Hanna was about to dump the last chest of gold out of the window. She grinned proudly as she saw the other chests and boxes floating away from the ship. It wouldn't be long until Durgon came down demanding what she was doing with his precious treasure. It was then she would make her move and escape.

As she was getting ready to lift the final chest, her grip slipped and when she regained her hold, something fell out. Hanna set the chest back on the ground and stooped down to pick up what had fallen out. It was a silver chain and at the end of it was a small glass case that was cube-shaped with silver frames around each side. There was a tiny little latch near the top and she realized that the case could open. It was a very interesting necklace...and one she could use.

Her hand slipped into her dress pocket and her fingertips brushed over the pearl that Bard had given her. Ever since the day he had given her the pearl as a friendship gift, she had kept it in her pocket every day so it was always with her. She didn't have anything to put it on to wear it...that was, until that very moment.

Normally, Hanna never would've considered stealing from anyone, but since these were pirates, she had no trouble on her conscience stealing from them. She plucked open the latch of the necklace and pulled the little lid open. Then she took the white pearl from her pocket, carefully placed it inside and popped the lid back down. Then, with that, she put the necklace around her neck. She admired it for a brief moment. The pearl looked even more beautiful in the necklace and now it could be close to her heart.

It was then she could hear shouting from the deck above followed by stomping footsteps. It was time; the Captain was coming. Quickly, Hanna stuffed the necklace underneath her clothes, moved to the back of the room, pulled the knife from her belt and held it in her hand while subtly hiding it behind her skirts.

The doors burst open and Durgon came barging into the room, seething with anger. The look he had on his face made Hanna take two steps back in apprehension.

He looked over where the treasure used to be, saw the empty space and then stopped in his tracks on the other side of the table. "You foolish girl!" he bellowed. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Hanna put on a mock innocent face and said in an equal tone, "Oh, I'm sorry...you had asked me to mop the floors and, well, I couldn't do it with all of that mess here, so...I just thought I would lessen the clutter." Then she smirked defiantly. "You didn't need any of that, did you?"

Her obvious defiance and snark really got under Durgon's skin; his eyes lit up with an angry fire, his jaw clenched and his upper lip twitched up as he snarled, striding towards her, "You insolent wench!" Then furiously, he lunged for the young woman.

Hanna's hand thrust out in front of her and her knife met the skin of his face, slicing his left cheek and he turned aside from the force of the blow, crying out in pain. She made another swing, but he saw that one coming and dodged her attack. She staggered towards him and brought the knife above her head, ready to plunge it down into his shoulder, but his own hand shot up and grabbed tightly to her wrist, stopping her. He held her arm in place and she struggled against his own strength. Then the pirate growled and his free hand came up and closed around her throat. She started gasping for air and tried pulling his hand away, but he was too strong. Then she saw an opportunity and took it. As hard as she could, Hanna drove her knee right up into Durgon's groin and his hold on her was immediately released as a high-pitched yelp escaped his throat and he doubled over. While he was incapacitated, she pushed him into one of the chairs behind him. She then noticed that his sword was still in its hilt on his belt. Quickly, before he regained his composure, she switched her knife from her right hand to her left and, using her right one, pulled the sword from its sheath. Then she pointed the sword at his throat and had the knife pointed at him behind it in her other hand.

She had the Corsair Captain cornered.

"I'm as feisty as I am pretty, remember? Right now, I must be a goddess to you," Hanna spat sarcastically. Then her face turned serious. "You've lost, Captain," she stated. "Now hand me the key to my shackles and let me go."

While groaning still from the blow below the belt, he replied, "You put up...quite a fight...but you...are mad...if you think I'm going to give you the key."

"Give it to me!" she demanded again.

He chuckled. "Never," he said.

Frustrated, Hanna decided to up the stakes and show him how serious she was. Keeping the sword pointed at him, she swung her other arm holding the knife out and slashed his bicep. Durgon yelled out and clutched onto the wound.

"I am in no mood for games, Durgon," Hanna told him firmly, "and I will do whatever it takes to get that key and get off this horrid ship. Killing you will make no difference to me. In fact, I will gladly cut you down, if necessary. Now hand me that key or I swear...I will slit you from navel to nose."

Durgon glared at Hanna indignantly, which Hanna didn't mind. She just looked him right in the eye and glared right back, not backing down from her threat.

Right then, they hear shouting followed by footsteps and the sounds of swords clashing outside. Hanna let her guard down as she was taken aback by the sudden noise. Durgon used her distraction to his advantage. He hit his sword out of her hand and swiftly grabbed her other wrist and twisted it behind her back. While she cried in pain, he pried her knife from her hand. Then he wrapped an arm around in front of her shoulders and held the knife to her throat.

"It would appear we have visitors," he hissed in her ear, "and I would wager they're here for you. Particularly that one young man whom you tried to save back on land."

Hanna grunted angrily at him mentioning Bard.

He chuckled maliciously again. "You won't be able to save him this time...and he won't be able to save you. I look forward to seeing his face when he comes in here and sees that I have you in my clutches."

Outside, the Elves, Legolas and Bard had climbed the side of the ship and the Elven soldiers had charged directly on board, taking the pirates by surprise. Swords were drawn and a fight commenced. As Legolas and Bard got onto the main deck, most of the pirates were occupied with at least one to two soldiers each.

"Bard, go! Now is your chance!" Legolas cried, drawing an arrow and shooting it from his bow at an oncoming pirate. "We'll hold them off here!"

Bard did not need to told twice. Now that he was on the ship, his only thought was Hanna and finding her immediately. He still couldn't fully believe that he was actually aboard a Corsair pirate ship after the argument he and Hanna had earlier that day.

"Once Hanna and I get out of here, I will definitely owe her one!" he thought to himself, considering how he had been wrong about the Corsairs and she had been right and his stubbornness had been what had gotten her captured in the first place. He hoped that she would still forgive him for all of that once they had escaped.

There was only one set of doors that he could see which led to a lower deck. That had to be the Captain's quarters where Hanna was. Bard dashed for the doors, parrying an incoming blow or two as he went. He was in no mood to fight anyone; he wanted to get to Hanna as quickly as possible before something happened to her. He would never forgive himself if something did happen to her. He jumped down the stairs and kicked the doors open, with his sword ready in hand. He charged in and stopped right away seeing Durgon holding Hanna with a knife at her neck.

"Bard!" Hanna cried out.

"Hanna!" Bard said back.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Durgon warned Bard tauntingly, his hand holding the knife flinching closer to Hanna's neck. "Take one more step and your lovely girl won't live to see another day."

"Let her go, Durgon!" said Bard, brandishing his sword.

"You're not really in a position to negotiate, young man...," Durgon replied, "because I hold the only thing worth bargaining for."

"You won't get away with this," Bard told him threateningly.

Durgon's eyebrows raised. "Do you want to try that and see how it all turns out?" he inquired. "Do you really want to risk your friend losing her life?"

Bard clenched his jaw in frustration. Seeing Hanna being held captive was horrible enough, but knowing that if he tried anything, she would surely be killed, was eating him alive. He wanted to rescue her, but he couldn't risk her getting hurt because of him. He just couldn't. Not Hanna, his best friend.

Reluctantly, Bard sighed in defeat and lowered his sword.

"Bard, no!" Hanna exclaimed.

Durgon just let out an evil laugh. "There's a good lad," he said. Then he tilted his head up and said, "Now, here is what you're going to do, Bard: you are going to stand aside and let me and your little friend here out so we can get off this ship. Do that and no harm shall come to her and I will spare your life."

Bard glared at him angrily. "I don't trust you, pirate," he spat. "How do I know you won't go back on your word?"

"You can't know, can you?" Durgon answered. "Unless you'd rather test it and end up seeing Hanna's lifeless body on the floor." Then his eyes narrowed. "Now go outside and tell your men to stand down."

"They are not mine to command," Bard replied.

Durgon gave him a look that said he clearly didn't believe him. "You brought them here, so they are your men," he countered, "Now tell them to stand down or I will cut this girl's throat in front of you!"

"You're despicable, Durgon," Hanna sneered.

"I know...it's just part of my pirate charm," Durgon said back, close to her ear. He turned back to Bard and bellowed, "Do as I say, boy!"

Warily, Bard turned to the door, keeping his eye on Durgon until his neck couldn't turn anymore. Then he faced back to the door and went to open it. Cautiously, he grasped the door handle and turned it, looking back at Durgon as he did so. He was grinning triumphantly, seeing Bard doing as he asked and thinking he was going to be escaping soon. Bard grimaced and then stepped outside.

Hanna struggled again against Durgons grip, but he only held her tighter and pressed the knife harder against her skin. "Don't even try anything, girl," he hissed in her ear. "Once you and I are off this ship, I am never letting you out of my sight."

"Good luck," Hanna replied. "I can be sly and sneak out of sight when I want to."

"Yet you still have shackles around your ankles," he reminded her. "Even if you tried, you would not get very far before I would find you again."

It was then they heard Bard call out outside the door, "Men! Stand down! Please, stand down! The Captain is coming out of his quarters and he wants no quarrel with any of you. He has Hanna with him. Lower your weapons and let him withdraw from his ship in peace."

"He has to have a plan," Hanna thought to herself. "There's no way he could actually be letting Durgon take me away."

Bard then came back to the room, looking downfallen. "The attack has ceased," he told Durgon.

"Good…!" Durgon crooned. Then he looked down at Hanna and asked, "Shall we go now, my lovely pet?"

She growled, "I would rather clean your floors with my tongue than go anywhere with you!"

"Well, if you had done that in the first place instead of throwing all of my treasure out the window, we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?" Durgon replied patronizingly. He then glared at Bard as he moved Hanna forward. "We will be leaving now without any interference, do you hear me?"

Bard hung his head. "Aye…," he answered quietly.

"Good," Durgon sneered. He kept moving Hanna towards the doors, keeping his eyes on Bard to make sure of no sudden movements. The Corsair Captain began moving up the stairs backwards, dragging Hanna with him and still watching Bard who was following him. "You really thought you would win and rescue your friend," he taunted him as he found footing on the upper deck, "but you are no match for the Corsairs. Your men have been ordered to stand down and you are helpless to save her!"

"They are not men nor are they his."

The Captain heard another voice and whipped around. He was stunned to discover all of his crew were dead on the floor of the ship, their bodies surrounded by Elven soldiers. That and he was also face to face with Legolas, standing a few feet away with his bow out and an arrow aimed right at him.

Legolas grinned at Durgon triumphantly and added to his first statement, "They are Elves...they did not and will not stand down because they are mine to command."

Then, without another word, the Elven Prince fired his arrow, which hit Durgon in the hand that held the knife at Hanna's throat. He yelled in pain and dropped the knife to the ground. Hanna, seizing the opportunity, elbowed him hard in the stomach and caused him to double over to his knees. Then she turned around and spotted Bard standing outside the doorway to the Captain's quarters.

"Bard!" she cried, sprinting towards him.

"Hanna! I'm here!" Bard replied, holding out his open arms to her and pulling her close once she reached him. He could feel her shaking and he stroked her hair to comfort her. "It's all right," he whispered. "I've got you. You're safe now."

Legolas approached Durgon, who was on his knees clutching his bleeding hand with the arrow still piercing it. The Elf put this bow back in its quiver, withdrew a long, white knife and then pointed it at the Corsair Captain.

"Your time is over," he declared. "You will not hurt anyone ever again."

"Do you know who you're speaking to, Elf?" Durgon questioned through gritted teeth. "I am Durgon, a well-renowned Captain of the Corsairs in the South!"

Legolas brought his knife closer. "You, sir, do not know to whom you speak," he stated back, "for I am Legolas, son of the Elvenking, Thranduil, and Prince of the Woodland Realm."

Durgon's eyes widened at the realization of who Legolas was and that he was in deep trouble.

Without waiting, Legolas swung his knife and slashed the Corsair Captain through the chest. His lifeless body slumped over, still wide-eyed down to the floor.

Legolas looked to Bard ahead of him, who was still holding onto Hanna.

"It's over now, Hanna," Bard said in Hanna's ear. "Durgon is dead."

Hanna breathed a sigh of relief into his chest.

"Bard, Hanna!" Legolas called out. "The two of you, get into one of the boats. I will accompany you back."

Bard bowed his head and both he and Hanna climbed into one of the boats and started lowering it down into the water.

Legolas ordered his shoulders to man the other boats and follow behind them. Then, with his orders understood, Legolas climbed atop the banister of the ship and slid down the rope that led down to Hanna and Bard's boat.

"Are you both all right?" asked Legolas.

Bard nodded.

Hanna nodded, too, and added, "Just a bit shaken, but I managed." Then she looked at Bard. "How did you manage to get the Prince of Mirkwood to help you rescue me?"

Bard snickered. "I got lucky," he simply replied.

Legolas added, "I happened to be nearby when I saw you were attacked and taken by those pirates."

Now understanding better, Hanna said to him, "I offer my sincerest gratitude to you, Legolas."

The Elf Prince merely bowed his head, respectfully, and then took up an oar and started rowing.

Then Bard leaned forward and said to Hanna shamefully, "Hanna, I am so...so sorry...for everything! It was my fault that you were captured. If only I had listened to you and not came boating out here, then none of this would've happened."

"Do not blame yourself. I don't," replied Hanna.

"I should never have said the things I did to you," said Bard with a sad look.

Hanna shook her head. "Me neither. We both said things we didn't mean out of frustration...but I'm willing to put it all behind us if you are."

Bard smiled. "Absolutely."

Then Legolas spoke to them, "Forgive me...but I must ask something of you both."

"What is it?" asked Bard.

"Before you return to Laketown," Legolas told them, "I must ask you to come with me back to the Woodland Realm so you may speak with my father and tell him of your encounter with the Corsairs. Their presence in these parts of Middle-Earth is rare and somehow, despite our security, they managed to trespass. My father will wish to know what happened in order to take more secure precautions in the future."

Bard remembered Legolas mentioning that to him before, just before they left to save Hanna. Originally, the Elf had wanted them to speak to Thranduil before saving Hanna, but Bard convinced him to help him save his friend first. Now that Legolas was bringing it up again, he figured it was only fair for them to agree to Legolas's request.

"We will go with you," Bard responded to him.

"We are?" Hanna questioned.

"Aye," Bard answered. "That is what Legolas wanted me to do at first, but I convinced him to help me save you from the Corsairs. It's only fair that we return the favor."

Hanna understood where he was coming from and agreed. "Very well," she said, "but first…." She turned around to look at the riverbank to the River Running, which they were fast approaching, and spotted all of Durgon's boxes and chests that she had thrown out the window of the Corsair ship had washed ashore.

She smirked, satisfied, to herself and finished, "We've got some treasure to load up."

.

Yay! :D

It's been great getting back to Hanna and Bard :) There will be some more twists and surprises coming up! Just stay tuned and I promise to update this story more often :)

Leave your thoughts in a review or PM me! :)

Love ya'll!