5.
The burning sun beat down upon the grasslands, scorching the earth and seeping all moisture from anything that lived upon this barren plain. The grasses seemed to bend down under the intense heat; no birds flew in the open sky. There was no wind, no clouds nor trees to shelter any that walked upon the open ground. Three lone travelers made their way across the plains regardless of the oppressive heat and dry air that stole the moisture from their very skin. They had attempted to combat the sun by wearing long loose clothing and head coverings, none of them wanting to fall prey to sunstroke which was a very likely outcome in this place.
Raven wondered, not for the first time, why anyone would choose to live in this barren place. There was nothing growing for leagues in any direction, the grasses she walked through seemed to have been dead for a very long time. Her head was pounding and she felt drained of energy, drained of her very life. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way before and she certainly didn't like it, she wasn't even sure why she felt this way or how to go about fixing it. Those she traveled with didn't seem to be affected in any way so she knew it wasn't an illness or at least she didn't think it was. Perhaps these people were carriers but immune themselves. However Raven really doubted this was the case, for she had felt this way before meeting these two…it was only growing stronger with the passage of time. As the day progressed and the sun finally began its slow decent in the west, Raven hoped that they would stop soon for she did not think she could continue moving forward. Something about this land was draining to her mind and body. She honestly wasn't sure how long she could last if this continued that in itself was alarming to say the least.
By the time the small company had finally come to a halt for the night, Raven was beyond exhausted. She couldn't figure out why she was just as exhausted now as when she had pursued Uruk-hai across Rohan with Legolas, Gimli and…Strider. The young elf made collapsed onto the ground, wrapping herself up inside her cloak and falling deep into her meditative state that at the moment was closer to a deep sleep than anything else. The two men stood watching her curiously for a few minutes, wondering if she would get back up and when she didn't they looked at one another skeptically before turning to gather grasses for some bedding before joining her in sleep. Both of the men uncertain if this elf would even be up to helping them if she collapsed like this after only a day of walking.
The hard, cracked earth yearned for any moisture yet none would fall save the few drops which streamed down the face of a young girl. Each time a tear fell from the girl's face, the earth greedily absorbed it, though the small amount of liquid didn't do anything to help heal this barren land. Really the only thing it did was to hide the evidence of her tears. The girl was surrounded by the cracked earth for as far as the eye can see, around her stood the jagged forms of trees that had dried up a long time ago from the lack of rains. There was no other plant life, not even dead scrub. The world seemed to only contain flat emptiness in every direction, only broken by the building a few yards behind her. This was the only world she had ever known and probably would ever know. Although she yearned to know of the world outside this dreary place, she doubted she would ever get to see it for He would never let her go and so far He hadn't taken her with him on any trips that He made either. The frail looking girl tucked a lock of her curly black hair behind her ear and carefully got to her feet. Inwardly scolding herself for taking the time to shed tears since she knew it was useless; crying wouldn't change anything no matter how much she wished things were different. But that was another thing that wouldn't change anything about her circumstances, wishing. Wishes never come true.
The girl trudged slowly into the building, tripping once in the hungry and sleep deprived haze that she constantly dwelt in. Thankfully she managed to recover quickly rather than have an abrupt and unfriendly meeting with the ground. Shuffling through the first room and into the kitchen to prepare some food for Him before He returned from wherever He had gone this time, the girl struggled with the urge to take some food for herself. Swallowing hard, she resisted for she knew taking any would get her into a lot of trouble and she really didn't want to add onto anything she was already going to get when He returned. Upon finishing the meal, she laid it on the table and moved to a corner in view of the chair before kneeling on the hard stone floor to await the inevitable return of the man she feared. The girl was content to kneel there and be alone with her thoughts, the only bit of happiness she could have was during times such as these and they were truly rare. She let her thoughts drift too far off lands where there were real trees and soft green grass, a dark forest and a faint figure that seemed to search for something or perhaps someone.
She was wrenched out of her thoughts by a hand grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her head back to find His angry face glaring down at her. His voice was cold and hard grinding out from behind clenched teeth.
"What have I told you about daydreaming, Thing? There is nothing better in this world for you, do you hear me? Do you!" He shook the girl furiously while he spoke and was satisfied when she nodded her head frantically in response. "You had better have more control over your thoughts Thing or future punishments will become increasingly unpleasant…well for you anyway."
The man exchanged his grip upon Thing's hair in favor of her wrist, his fingers wrapping painfully tight around the thin limb. He dragged her across the house and into the outer courtyard, across the hot stones and earth to a tiny chest looking container which he shoved her into. He yanked Thing's wrists above her head and tied them to the ring on the inside. Thing swallowed and watched Him fearfully, uncertain what he would do to her in this chest. She didn't have long to wait before He returned with several buckets of water and dumped them in on top of her, not stopping until the chest was nearly full. Leaving only enough space for Thing to get air if she kept her face pressed up against the lid.
"If you want to live than I suggest you keep your thoughts focused upon keeping your face above the water. This is all there is for you, nothing more. Get that through your thick skull". With that He shut the lid to the chest and locked it, leaving Thing in complete darkness.
Thing struggled to keep her head above the water, her shoulders straining to keep her arms in a position that allowed her to breathe. Water sloshing over her face every time she moved or lost focus. Fear consumed her, which only made the suffocating darkness and the confined space worse. Making it harder and harder for her to breathe without choking, choking on the water that surrounded her.
Raven abruptly awoke choking and struggling to breath. She sat up from the ground and looked frantically around the surrounding area, her chest heaving and eyes wide from the fear and the dream that had seemed so real to her. She shuddered from the memories which had become her nightmares. Quietly she stood upon shaky legs and gazed eastward to the rising sun, her body aching and she felt more drained than she had before actually sleeping. Kornis and Lorenian watched her with curious gazes and walked towards her, both giving her an attempt at a reassuring smile before moving off through the tall grasses with Raven following close behind.
