A/N: Hey guys. We're finally giving you this story. Think of it as a Valentine's week special. We hope you like it and I'll admit it kinda sucks and it's sappy at times but I just needed to get this idea out of my head so I could continue with my other stories. So without further ado I give you: A Dark Heart Still Feels ~ Shade 3 & Kitteh 01
They Say...
...that the living dead have no souls. They cannot feel love or even pain. But one girl learned different when she met one man, in her already screwed up life, that changed everything.
She lay broken and prepared for the hooves of the large black horse to slam down on her body. For it to end her miserable life. Instead it backed off and the rider dismounted. Fear suddenly coursed through her veins and she tried to back away, yelling in pain when it caused her to hit an open wound. A Ringwraith. She shook as adrenaline caused her to grab her dagger and swing it at him when he was close enough. Instead the hooded figure grabbed her wrist and knelt beside her. She waited for the killing blow with her head turned away.
He had seen her before. From her long black hair with the odd silver stripe down one side. To her unbreakable nature and of course her light blue eyes. Nor could he forget the elven ears or the sharp teeth she beheld. He carefully raised the hand that wasn't holding her wrist up and carefully examined a cut on her neck. She shivered and shrunk under his touch but didn't try to hit him. She looked to him once more before the darkness overtook her. The Ringwraith carefully lifted her up and placed her on the horses back. He rode quickly forwards, hearing the other eight as they came up behind him. They rode swiftly towards the shadow in the distance.
Chapter One
She opened her eyes and found herself on a horses back outside of the Black Gates. She began to panic until a strong arm carefully pinned her against the owner. She glanced up only to see a Black Rider, a Ringwraith. An enemy. Her face paled and she looked to the road ahead. One of the riders moved up and looked towards her before looking at the other one. A vague thought passed through her as she realized she could understand what they had said.
"Why bring this filth with us?" Her anger flared at that and she sat up despite the pain that flared throughout her body.
"I'm not filth." She snapped at him. They all stopped riding and she wished she had died back on the trail.
"How did you understand him?" The one she was riding with asked. She shrugged.
"I just do." They looked at each other for a moment and then quickened the pace of their horses. They reached Bara-dun shortly before nightfall and she felt tired once more. She slid from the saddle when the horse stopped and nearly hit the ground. One of them caught her and then she was being carried up a few flights of steps and placed on a surprisingly comfortable bed. The door shut a moment after and she opened her eyes slightly. The dimly lit room was void of anything but her little bed and a small chair by a table and place for a little fire. After taking in the room she turned and closed her eyes, pulling the sheets over her.
She awoke sometime in the middle of the night due to a horrible growling sound. She turned and sat up, nearly screaming as she saw that her door was open and a Warg was staring at her. She backed up, pressing her back pressed tightly against the wall. The doglike beast simply continued to advance on her. She whimpered slightly before it growled and leapt.
An Orc happened to be passing by the room where she was and threw a shield that hit the beast upside the head.
"How did you get in here you stupid mutt!" He yelled and the Warg growled before walking out. The orc then looked to the frightened girl as she held herself against the wall. "He won't hurt ya." She looked to him and relaxed a bit.
"You sure? Because teeth usually mean biting and biting means hurting." He simply laughed at that and then shrunk away as someone came up. He all but ran away as the leader of the Ringwraiths came up to the door.
"Come with me." She nodded. Common tongue was obviously not something he spoke. She was led from the room and up another series of staircases. This time they led up to the tower. She almost stopped and ran but curiosity propelled her forwards. They stopped in a room of to the side and she looked towards the end of the room. Instinct caused her to back up until her back hit the door. He was in the armor all knew him by. A good portion of his right hand was missing. Even from that small detail she knew who he was.
"Sauron." Her voice was small as she tried desperately to escape his unwavering gaze. He took a step towards her and she sunk to the floor, hiding her face with her arm. She heard laugher come from the helmet and hid further into the sleeve of her shirt.
"You're pet is afraid Ringwraith." All fear was forgotten in a matter of seconds.
"Pet?" She growled. Stillness filled the air. "You call me a pet?!" She stood and turned, glaring at him. Her eyes seemed to change to a deep blue in that moment and she now held a sword, clearly produced by magical means. She began to walk away from the door.
"What is your name?" She heard the whispering voice of the man everyone feared.
"I am Ziya." Her voice didn't falter or break now. Instead it was filled with a deep malice. She didn't even notice as the Ringwraith appeared to freeze, not even turning his head now. His gaze locked upon her. "And you're going to let me go." She raised the sword. It was almost six feet in length. A slim blade but strong. Again he laughed.
"You are strong. I think it would be...amusing to have you remain here." Her gaze narrowed and she tightened her grip on the blade.
"Amusing? You think me a toy? A mere trinket to be shown off?" She flipped the blade to where it was pointed behind her. She stopped less than seven feet from the dark lord.
"No. But a sword that could help us. You have a sharp tongue and are near unbreakable." She lowered the sword slightly.
"And what offer would you make to convince me that my stay here would be worth the effort?" To this he took a step forwards.
"Answers." She sighed and the sword vanished. He had known what she was looking for. Answers to why she was different, why she could understand the Ringwraiths. And perhaps even what she was. Besides. She really did fear death.
"Fine. I will remain." Her eyes turned back to the light hue of blue they had been before.
"Good. You may return to your room." She bowed her head before walking out the door and down to her room.
Five Years Later
There were very few women in Mordor. And most of them were from far off in the east. In turn there were a few children who ran around. And Ziya was a caretaker when she was not training in magic and swordsmanship. She was able to keep the children away from the ones who prepared for battle. Quite often she would see the Ringwraiths and even trained with them. Because of that, many mortals and Orcs were wary of her but they knew Sauron himself had recruited her.
On one of the occasions when she was watching the children she was approached by a group of orcs.
"Look at this wench. Playing in the sand with the children of filth." She narrowed her gaze at the creature and a smirk grew on his face.
"It would do you much good to leave and never speak of me in such a manner again." She felt the sword in her hand. "Otherwise things could get...ugly."
The Orc simply laughed and she smirked, her sword vanishing. "Ugly she says!" One of them laughed.
"Lithelar. Get the children inside." The maid nodded her head and took the children inside. Ziya's simple smirk remained as one Orc stepped forth and slapped her.
"Get that stupid look off of your face." She hadn't moved and her eyes were turning dark blue. The Orc replied by slapping her again. This time she grabbed his hand and then moved her grasp to his neck. There she bit down into the warped flesh. As soon as he stopped squirming she threw him to the ground. She had learned about her, for lack of a better word, appetite shortly after her fifth birthday. That is why she had been exiled.
"Anyone else?" They all turned tail and ran. "Thought not." Her tongue flicked and grabbed a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth, the reptilian body part tickling at her lips. Sences were heightened for a short time. The breeze against her neck not unlike the loving hand she knew she would never feel. The scents in the area causing her eyes to widen. Something sweet in the blood of a group of nearby figures. The children. She had to get out before she hurt them. She turned and ran as quick as she possibly could back to the tower and then up the stairs to her room.
She shut the door behind her and leaned against it, cleaning the rest of the blood from around her mouth. She froze when she heard someone knock. 'Not now. Not when I had been so careful. I should've taken out the other two so they couldn't tell anyone.' She thought quickly. She opened the door and saw the leader of the Black Riders. Or as she had come to call him, the Witch-king.
"Ziya. Sauron wishes to see you at once." She nodded. As they walked she turned to him.
"Does anyone outside of these walls know?" He shook his head and she sighed. "Good." They stopped outside the door and Ziya held her breath for a second before opening the doors. She spotted Sauron at the other side of the room and cursed the fact that she had just eaten. He would be able to see the difference in how she stood, how she held herself.
"There is blood on your upper lip." Her cheeks reddened slightly and she flicked her tongue up, catching the drop of blood. "So tell me. How does Orc blood taste?"
She shrugged. "It is sweet but tainted. Then again I am still getting used to the blood of things that can talk."
"And what did you eat before you came to us?" She thought for a moment.
"Common food and pretty much any animal I could sink my teeth into. Never anything that spoke though." A slight nod.
"How long had you been on your own before here?" She sighed.
"For thirty years." This seemed to surprise the others in the room a little. She found it best not to mention where she had been, for five years, before the found her.
"You look far younger than your age suggests." She nodded.
"I stopped aging on my twentieth birthday." A nod and then a dismissive gesture. Yep. She was a toy. Just some shiny new object that Sauron couldn't stop picking up and trying to figure out. She bowed her head and moved swiftly out the door. She waited there until the Witch-king had come out. They walked down to her room in near complete silence.
He must have noticed the way her jaw was set because he stopped and looked at her. "Tell me what you are thinking." She thought for a second then nodded.
"I'm his toy. His little plaything that he just wants to figure out. That way he can cast it aside an build a better and stronger version." She leaned against the door behind her. They stood there a moment until the Ringwraith spoke again.
"Not exactly. You might prove useful to him and that is why he keeps you here." She set her jaw again. It was amazing how laid back the Ringwraiths were when they were with people they trusted. Once in a while they would gather together and invite Ziya. Most of it was drinking, though she had never seen under the hoods in her five years in Mordor, and recounting battles won and lost in their time. They were the only ones who, before today, knew what she was.
She sighed softly and moved away from the door, continuing down the stairs. "I suppose you might be right." She ducked into her room and shut the door, falling back and onto the bed. She sighed and curled up under the sheets, drifting into a light sleep. Her last conscious thought being how kind the Ringwraiths were to take her in and train her as one of their own.
A/N: Hey! Hope ya liked it! There will be one a day all week if I can. And if I can't then it'll be a rush update and all of the final chapters will be up Valentines Day. But anyways! Two for today since I missed Sunday. ^.^ Thanks for reading. ~Kitteh 01
~~P.S. Living dead was all I could think to call the Ringwraiths. Though I guess an immortal would've been better. However. It wouldn't have had the same impact, should I have called him that.~~