Rida Ahmed
(Takes place in Book II ch. IV A Journey In The Dark. It's sort of mixed in with the events on pages 335 & 336.)
'They are not hounds of Sauron,' a voice spoke out from the darkness. The company froze in place for they did not know where it had come from. 'These abominable beasts belong to me.' With that said, one of the wolves, the largest at that, stepped into the light of the fire and stood before the fellowship.
'Is the wolf talking to us?' said Pippin.
'Of course not!' said Merry, though looking quite unsure of it himself. Other wolves appeared and began to circle the fellowship. They kept their black eyes on them, especially the hobbits. Sam let out a yelp when one of the wargs snapped its jaws at him. Aragorn swung his sword at the wolf, cutting right into the wolf's face. The creature leapt back with a yelp, then snarled. It continued to circle the fellowship along with its kin, its tail tucked between its legs.
'My beasts are hungry,' the voice whispered. It sent a shiver through Frodo. He noted that the voice was very soft and rather grim. Not a voice he'd expect from an orc. Or something he has assumed was an orc. But there was something odd about the voice. Something he couldn't quite make out.
'Show yourself!' Gimli roared and threateningly waved his ax towards the nearest warg. Frodo was startled by the erupt sound of laughter that filled the darkness.
'It's a woman!' Boromir said eagerly. He looked around, searching for the source of the laughter with a look on his face that made Frodo uneasy. Aragorn gave Boromir a dark look but said noting.
'It's just a woman! We can take her!' said Gimli.
'She is not just a mere woman, Gimli,' Gandalf finally spoke, his face grim and angry. 'She is the Orc Witch. A foul being she is.'
'I have heard tales of this wicked she-elf,' Aragorn said.
'As have I. Her tale is both sad and dark. I have heard it many times and it still disturbs me,' said Legolas.
'I have not heard of her,' said Pippin.
'Neither have I,' said Merry. Sam, clearly not having heard of her as well, looked confused. Frodo, however, has heard tales of the Orc Witch from Bilbo. "Such a fair lady, she used to be. She was an elf you know," Bilbo had said. "But now she is less than a shadow of herself. She was corrupted and tainted. It's best that you stay away from such a lady, Frodo my lad."
'She was a fair elf. One of the fairest of her time, she was. Until she was taken and corrupted by Sauron's wickedness. She now serves the Dark Lord. The "Mother of Orcs" she is sometimes called,' said Gandalf
'Why is she called that?' asked Pippin.
'Why else, Peregrin Took!' Gandalf snapped. 'She is tainted by the orcs! A fair lady she was at one time, now nothing more than pawn. She seduces men to her lair and takes them for her own pleasures while creating more orcs!'
'Stop this now! I do not wish to hear more of her story. I have heard all too much about the Orc-Witch!' Legolas cried. Suddenly, the voice began to speak but in a language Frodo did not understand. 'Her words are in Black Speech! She speaks that foul language!' Legolas said angrily.
'There! I see her!' Boromir said and pointed towards the small knit of trees. Frodo saw a creature slowly striding forward. There was a sense of unease throughout the company as the figure grew closer. The creature wore a long black robe that was worn from time. The creature stopped right next to the largest warg. A grey scaly hand slipped out from the tattered sleeves and rested itself on the wolf's head.
'Four hobbits,' the Orc Witch said in a deceptively gentle voice. 'That is more than enough to feed my chief wolf.' Her black talon-like nails gentle raked over the wolf's matted fur. 'The other four larger folk would surely satisfy my other beasts.' With that, the other wargs howled their excitement. 'As for the little dwarf, it only seems fit to be nothing more than a toy,' she added rather dryly.
'A toy!' Gimli roared.
'The dwarf is just as obnoxious as I remember them to be,' the witch said coldly 'Its tiny mind fits its tiny body.' The Orc Witch pulled her hood back, revealing her grotesquely beautiful face. Frodo has never seen a creature quite like the one that stood before him. The witch's face looked like any fair she-elf would, except by the fact that her skin was a pale grey color. Her eyes were cat-like and yellow. Her hair was dark and wavy but it was hard for Frodo to see where it ended. It seemed to blend in with the night.
'Stand down, Orc Witch!' Gandalf said, his voice like thunder. 'We merely wish to go through the Mines of Moria. Stand down and we will not harm you.'
'Why are you showing her mercy!' said Sam, who was huddled with the other hobbits behind the wizard.
'It seems best to show her some sort of mercy considering she was not shown any by the Dark Lord himself,' Gandalf muttered but kept his old wizard eyes on the witch. The fair orc narrowed her own eyes at Galdalf.
'Harm me? Oh no, great wizard. You shall not harm me, for my beasts will harm you!' she cried and without warning the wargs sprang foward. Aragorn sliced into one's throat while Gimli dug his dwarf-ax into another's skull. Even through the snarls and growls, the bow of Legolas could be heard. Gandolf guarded the hobbits while fending off the wargs that came to him. Boromir was the only one, other then the witch herself, that stood still.
'Boromir,' Frodo cried out. Boromir dropped his sword and shield. He was merely staring at the witch who silently went to him. It was clear that the man of Gondor was in a trance. The Orc Witch smiled as she reached out to touch Boromir's face. Frodo lunged forward, pulling out Sting, and sliced off her outreached arm. A chilling shriek escaped from her mouth. The chief wolf, realizing that it's mistress with in trouble, turned to face Frodo. Just as it launched itself at the hobbit, Aragorn pushed Frodo out of the way and was pounced upon by the beast. Boromir, now broken out of his trance, picked his sword back up and plunged it into the chief warg's back. The wolf let out a pained howl before whirling around and sinking its teeth into the man's leg.
'Enough of this!' Gandalf roared and raised his staff. A light as bright as day flashed form its tip. The wolves howled and retreated back into the dark forest. Only the Orc Witch and chief wolf remained. The chief wolf still had Aragorn pinned as well as had Boromir's leg in it's jaws. Gimli swung his ax at the beast. Finally the beast released both Boromir and Aragorn and faced the dwarf.
'Come taste my ax you filthy beast!' said Gimli. The warg snarled and lunged towards the dwarf. Before the Gimli managed to stroke the beast Legolas shot three of his elvish arrows into it's neck. The beast almost immediately dropped to the ground. The dwarf gave Legolas a look of disgust. 'I don't need help from an elf!' he snapped.
'No! My beast!' the witch suddenly cried. The company was stunned by how devastated the witch looked as she went towards the fallen warg. She kneeled next to the wolf and tenderly laid her remaining hand on its head. She let out low distressed moan as if she had lost her child. Frodo was unsure if he should pity her or not.
Aragorn slowly got to his feet with his sword at hand as Legolas tended to Boromir's leg as best as he could. The ranger went forward to the now sobbing Orc Witch. She did not bother facing the man. It was clear that she had lost.
'I will relieve you of your pain,' Aragorn said grimly. 'It is time to put you to rest.' With one swift swing of his sword, the Orc Witch's head fell. The fellowship silently stared as her body fell with a soft thud.
'She is now at peace' Legolas said quietly.
'Yes. But now, we must leave this place. We can not rest here for it is covered with dismay and death,' said Gandalf. With that said, the company packed whatever belongings they had and headed off. Boromir miraculously was able to walk. Frodo was relieved that none of the Fellowship had perished. However, he did feel a trickle of sorrow for the Orc Witch. For her tale was both sad and dark.