I do not own Lord Of The Rings, as much as I wish I did L And I don't own the Black Eyed Peas' or Alanis Morissette's songs either.

8181818 Feb 28

Nicole stared, and stared some more. In her mind her thoughts went something like this, (long beard + white robes = wizard) x is not Gandalf, therefore x = Saruman. Holy shit she was screwed.

"Andrew and Maufundt told me you spoke Westron." He switched to Sindarin "Would you be more comfortable speaking in your native tongue?"

Nicole leaned back in her chair, eyeing the wizard in distrust. 'If only he knew what my native tongue was.' She thought.

"Westron is fine." She looked over his shoulder "I wouldn't want to be rude to anyone else in the room by speaking in a language they don't understand."

"Such an interesting accent you have. Where are your people?" the question was asked casually, but Nicole didn't trust a single word out of this snake's mouth. Saruman was known to be persuasive, and right now he was trying to seem harmless and helpful.

"Mirkwood" she answered immediately. She wasn't lying. Legolas had said she was welcome to live there.

"Hmm… I haven't spoken with those elves in quite some time. They are a bit reclusive."

'Thank God for that, or he might know more about them' she thought.

"Who is their king again? In my advanced age I have trouble remembering."

'The hell you do!' "Thranduil" she smiled innocently, "and Oropher before him."

The answer seemed to satisfy the wizard. He nodded and turned to Maufundt who stood silently at the wall, her dark hair tied in a loose ponytail of many tightly woven braids. "It seems all you have brought me is a simple wood elf."

Nicole breathed a sigh of relief.

Saruman stood and smiled kindly at her, "Well my dear, you must be tired so we will let you rest." He waved a hand at Maufundt and she left the room, Saruman followed and paused in the doorway. "I wasn't aware that wood elves referred to their home as Mirkwood now. It's such a sad name. I much prefer Greenwood or Eryn Lasgalen."

Nicole swallowed and met his eyes, "It has become a dark and dangerous place."

He fixed her with a stare blacker than coals. "Do not try to leave the room. The door is locked." He said, and stepped out, shutting the door with a clang.

81818

It was nearing the end of their second day of chase. Their group followed the uruk-hai until there was no light left to see. They debated on the best course. Legolas strongly wanted to continue on into the dark. To him it was plain that the uruk were heading in a straight line towards Isenguard, but he was over-ruled. His chances of saving her alone were much less than if he had the axe and sword of his friends with him. He wandered around the perimeter as the others slept, singing softly to himself. Soon though he grew weary and sat down to examine Nicole's pack again. He had opted to keep hers instead of carry his own. He added a few of his things to the pack, along with her cloak. This way he could return them to her. The boots were far too heavy to carry so he stored them with the packs of Merry and Pippin beneath the last down-turned boat.

It was silly to keep her things, but he felt closer to her this way. He opened the drawstring and carefully sifted through the pack. A brush, soap, a very short dress. He'd blushed seeing that the first time and put it away quickly. What on earth could the purpose of a garment like that be? Was it wrong of him to want that knowledge? There was also a change of clothes and her sketchbook and coals. His curiosity quickly overcame his will to maintain her privacy. He had already seen her underwear after all.

He opened the book to the first page. There he saw a picture of himself in surprisingly accurate detail perched in a tree with a smile that said he knew she was watching him. His lips turned up at the memory and he flipped the page. The next was a strange picture. It looked like Nicole… but not. She had drawn herself with rounded ears and had altered her face very slightly, but it was her, he was sure of it. Was this how she had looked before? The woman in the picture was sad, profoundly so. It was as if she knew she had been left behind. The expression was so genuine that it inspired the same feeling in him. When he finally turned the page after many minutes his melancholy was replaced by confusion. It was an image of a man, with hair shorn short, standing proud and tall as he looked off to the side. The lines of his face were strikingly similar to their recently fallen comrade. His clothing was strange, a robe-like top that was tucked into wide legged pleated pants that were so long the hem touched the floor. He'd almost mistaken it for a dress at first. But this man wore it with the mien of a warrior. Was this her husband? All doubt left him as he looked more closely. There, kneeling behind him and dressed just the same as the man… Nicole. Human again, her hair was back in a tight bun, just as he had seen her wear it in Rivendel when she was training. The look of total adoration and pride on her face made his heart sink. How could he compete with such a memory? Now he understood her behavior in Lothlorien. Every day of travel with the fellowship she was confronted with an image of someone she might never have again, only to find that it was certain she never would. Lightly he traced her image with a finger. He wanted her to look at him like this.

The morning song of a bird in the tall grass roused him and he looked up. He must have been staring at the images for hours. The first grey rays of light had touched the sky beyond the horizon. Quickly he placed the book back into the pack and moved to wake the others. He would save her. Any other option was unthinkable.

81818 Feb 29th

The next day a knock on the door startled Nicole out of a daze. She sat up, instantly on alert. 'Why knock? It's not as if I can keep them out?'

To her surprise Andrew came in carrying a tray of food. He set it before her and turned to leave.

"What's wrong with your face?" Funny, the question hadn't seemed quite so rude when she'd thought it in her head. She cringed back.

The man turned. The whole left side of his face was covered in a bandage. His right eye however looked pissed.

"Do all elves ask such insolent questions?" He said harshly with his fists clenched at his side.

Nicole leaned back and held up her hands, "No… sorry it's just habit. If I don't ask about something I'll never know, and as a healer I'm nosey about these things." She shifted in her seat. "So… did you trip or something?"

He stared down at her for a moment. "Yes… something like that." He finally answered in a gentler tone.

Nicole looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the sudden intensity in his eyes. After several moments of him standing there, she spoke to break the silence. "I could take a look at it if you want. I'm pretty good with stitches… that is if it needs any."

He watched her for an uncomfortable minute and then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Nicole let out a sigh of frustration and stood to walk over to the window. The sight that greeted her was disturbing to say the least. There were multiple levels to the tower, barracks branched out from Orthanc like the legs of a spider. It was in a constant state of construction. War machines were being pieced together and her keen eyes even picked out a smithy far away pounding hot metal into swords. Smoke rose up from many of the buildings as if Hell's fire was burning inside them. Far beyond the haze trees rose up some lower mountain peaks, but they were distant and gave Nicole little comfort. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the smell, smoke and unwashed bodies and... something else she couldn't put her finger on but didn't want to ponder. New York City in the middle of summer on garbage day wasn't as offensive.

The sound of someone turning a lock in the door made her jump and turn. It was Andrew. He had returned with several things balanced precariously on his arms. Behind him the door swung shut and was locked again from the outside.

Cautiously, she moved closer to see what he had with him. Slowly he unstacked his burden. He set a towel, needle and thread, a tiny pair of scissors, bandages, and a bowl of water on the table.

He then moved around and sat on the couch, looking up at her expectantly.

"So… I guess you want me to stitch you up?"

He nodded.

She pulled the chair around the table and sat facing him. "Take off the bandages. Let's see what we're working with here."

What he revealed initially made Nicole cringe. A long gash started at his hairline and crossed over his eye, thankfully skipping over the socket, before continuing down his cheek.

"You've cleaned it already?" she questioned.

He nodded.

"Good, then I'm going to use the water to wash my hands." Nicole scrubbed her hands in the bowl for a good 60 seconds. There was no soap available, so friction would have to do the job. She blotted them on the towel and then gently probed at his face.

"Well you're lucky, whoever cut you had a sharp blade, so this should heal well once it's stitched. I would recommend not smiling or scowling much for the next few weeks while it heals. Wouldn't want to rip the stitches." She picked up the sutures, "OK hold still. This won't hurt me a bit," she said jokingly as if he was one of her patients back home. This man may have captured her, but who knew what his reasons were. Despite what she had said after he drugged her the second time she didn't hate him. Maybe showing a little good will would benefit her in the end.

He didn't so much as cringe while she sewed him up. It was rather surprising to her. Finally, she wrapped the bandage back over his face again, opting to do it in a fashion that left an opening for his eye. His depth perception would be all messed up if he left it covered like that.

"Thank you Anne." He said warmly, "That was a kindness no other in this place was willing to perform."

She nodded. "No problem."

He stood and moved over to the window. "Since you have been kind to me I will tell you why you are here."

She tried to curb the sarcasm in her voice. "Oh, really? I thought the great wizard Saruman wanted a feminine touch added to his décor" She gestured around her, "It is a bit Spartan."

Andrew turned to look at her with a small smile. "You said for me not to smile. Are you trying to make me laugh…" Then he paused and looked at her strangely. "Spartan" he repeated. "That is an interesting phrase. Where did you hear it?"

"Uh" Nicole hesitated. "It's a saying… where I come from."

"Have you any idea of its origins"

"Come again?" she repeated dumbly.

"Do you know where and when Sparta was?"

The hairs on her neck prickled. "No… no… I just… heard it said once and repeated it now. That's all. Why do you ask?" she said nervously.

"because it's a saying where I come from as well."

She laughed to cover her surprise, "Small world." She reached forward to pick up the glass of water for a drink, just to have something to do with her hands. Inside she was panicking. 'What the hell is going on here?!'

He crossed the room slowly. His expression was calm, but to Nicole he looked like a cat stalking prey. She tensed slightly, ready to jump up if he tried anything.

"I should tell you now that Saruman was disappointed earlier. He wanted us to pawn you off to the troops as a… reward. I convinced him you might have useful information."

Nicole's mouth was suddenly dry. Her insides squirmed uncomfortably at what Andrew was suggesting.

"Like what?" her voice sounded meek and pitiful. Nicole wanted to kick herself, but he'd just casually mentioned her worst fear as if he was talking about the weather.

"Like a weapon he could use." Andrew looked down at her thoughtfully.

Immediately an image of the one ring popped into her head. It was out of his reach now though. But if he found out about it, Sauron might find out too, because of the palantir. It would ruin everything.

"I don't know anything about any weapons." She insisted. "Why would you tell him something like that?"

"Because that is why he summoned me here… to this place."

"You?" Nicole said incredulously. "I think I am missing something here."

He sat down in front of her, looking down at his feet. "I remember getting into my Ford… and then I woke up here, and I was young again."

"Your car…," repeated Nicole dumbly, the word sounding strange on her tongue. "Your car?" she said again in English.

He looked up suddenly, pinning her with his pale eyes. "Where are you from, really Anne?" he said in English.

"The United States... " She whispered in awe. "And you?"

He leaned back. "North Carolina"

Ahh, now she recognized his accent. "But… I don't understand."

"Saruman wants weapons." He jerked a thumb towards himself. "I've been designing them for my whole life." He sat up proudly. "They used my model to improve the rifles used in the Great War. Among other things."

Alarm was creeping up Nicole's spine. 'So not only is this guy an expert in chemical sedation, he also designs guns!'

"You worked for the military I'm guessing." She said cautiously. "Have you designed any… incendiary devices?"

"Bombs?" he laughed, obviously pleased with himself. "Child's play."

Nicole cleared her throat, She would have to proceed carefully. She leaned forward "Do you trust Saruman?" she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow and she had the distinct feeling that he found this whole situation amusing.

"Trust him… no, But the guy's got resources, I'll give him that. His goblins and orcs can craft just about anything I ask them to. The metal's not quite up to par yet, but—"

"You can't give him any weapons!" Nicole hissed suddenly.

Andrew leaned back in surprise.

She continued, "He's a psychopath and a tyrant. He wants to bring the whole world to its knees!"

He scoffed. "Stop being so dramatic. It's just a simple business arrangement."

Nicole narrowed her eyes. "Have you seen the creatures he keeps around? They're disgusting, the kind of evil that murders and rapes for fun."

Andrew crossed his arms. "Men are capable of those same things."

"So you're going to help him?" disbelief coated her words.

He shrugged. "I haven't decided yet, but I had to give him something to earn my keep. I've already shared my recipe for a simple grenade with him."

Nicole buried her face in her hands. "Of course, Helm's Deep."

After a moment he spoke, "What's your problem? The people of this world are going to figure out how to make guns sooner or later."

A fierceness rose within Nicole, 'This is it. This was why I've been summoned here. I have to stop him from helping Saruman or the enemy will end up with weapons no man here knows how to fight.'

"You're right." She said sitting up and forcing a pleasant look on her face. "So what year did you say you were from again?"

"1935" he said. "I have been here for over 5 years."

"The 30's, an interesting time." She murmured "The Great Depression."

"And you? I have never seen an elf in my homeland before." He leaned forward and placed a hand on her knee. "I am sure I would have remembered your face."

Nicole's eyes settled on his hand. She fought the urge to smack it away.

A pounding on the door made her jump. Andrew stood straight. She watched him with some trepidation as he walked away.

He paused at the door. "Tell him what you can and he may let you live."

Nicole sniffed. "Death is a better alternative."

"You are so altruistic. It's very sweet." He said condescendingly with a smirk on the uninjured side of his face. His eyes trailed over her slowly and then he was out the door with a swirl of his dark cloak.

As soon as the lock clicked she broke down into silent shaking sobs. How long would it be before the others came to rescue her? She didn't think she could take much more of this. What would Aragorn or Legolas do in this situation? She had no idea, so she did what she always did to soothe herself. She sang.

"feel like I wanna smack somebody… Turn around and bitch slap somebody." She jumped up and began pacing back and forth, tears still streaming down her face.

"But I ain't goin' out bro… I ain't givin' into it," She had to fight. That was plain. Nothing from her world would interest Saruman… except her knowledge of the novels by Tolkien. She literally knew nil about weapons that would be useful to him. Yes, she knew that nuclear power used electrons to blast radioactive stuff apart, but that was just basic theory. Saruman couldn't hope to harness the technology from her meager knowledge on the subject. She hadn't even taken a physics class before because she knew the math went beyond basic algebra and she was intimidated by it. Well it seemed there was a reason for that after all. She let out a chuff of incredulity. Yeah right. Elrond had chosen her as an emissary over her rocket scientist brother because she was a mediocre math student. Things were not looking up. It was a choice between torture and then death, or just skipping to the last part.

"Lately my whole aim is to maintain. And regain control of my mainframe. My blood's boilin' it's beatin' out propane. My train of thought's more like a runaway train."

She sang at a regular volume. Saruman already was going to question her anyway. She might as well work out her issues however she could.

Later that evening a tray was brought to the room with a steaming pot of tea set upon it. It was a strange sight to see Maufundt carrying the delicate porcelain with ease that a handmaiden would be jealous of. She just didn't seem the type. Behind the uruk, the white wizard walked into the room casually and sat opposite her. The tray was placed between her and Saruman. Then the creature moved back and stood at the far wall. Her eerie gaze was fixed on Nicole. The elleth looked between her and the tea tray a few times before shaking her head. 'This is not how I imagined my captivity going,' she thought to herself.

"Will you be having any tea?" Came Saruman's voice. It was calming and pleasant.

Nicole nodded mutely.

"Well?"

She flicked her eyes up to catch his briefly, then directed them back down to the two downturned cups on the tray and the tea between them.

"Oh… Right." She reached forward and flipped both cups over, pouring the hot liquid into them. She placed a single spoonful of sugar in her cup willing her hands to stay steady. She glanced up nervously. "Uh, will you be having any… sugar in your tea?" she questioned. 'This was absurd.'

"No thank you Eiliannel…" Nicole noted with disdain that his annunciation of the Elvish name was flawless.

"So Andrew tells me you are from his world. How is it that you came to be here?"

"I died." She answered conversationally, stirring her cup. 'It couldn't hurt to answer that question.'

"How unfortunate" he said sadly. "You must miss your family a great deal."

"Yes…" she said with a sigh. 'Jeez he didn't seem as bad as she remembered from the book. She sipped at the tea. It was really good. 'Damn, didn't expect that.

"Will you satisfy an old man's curiosity?"

Nicole quirked an eyebrow.

He stopped and fixed her with a disarming smile. "Have I said something untrue?"

"Well you are old, but you're no man. You're a wizard. There's a difference." She set her cup down on the saucer and folded her hands in her lap.

"That is true" he took a sip of his tea. "Tell me about your world."

"Hasn't Andrew told you?" Replied Nicole hesitantly. She was in no way prepared for this interrogation.

"You are different, clearly" He gestured towards her ears. "You will have seen things he has not."

She picked up her cup again and took a long drink. Andrew said Saruman was interested in weapons so… modern technology should be safe enough. She really didn't know enough about how that worked to get herself into trouble.

"I… could tell you what a typical day is like for me. We use inventions to make life easier… for cooking, cleaning, transportation, communication, and lots of other stuff."

"Begin speaking and I will stop you to elaborate if something of interest comes up."

"Well… uh… when I am working…. My… phone, a device for communication, alarms to wake me up for work… I work at night in a hospital, a place people go for healing when they are sick."

"You care for sick humans, most interesting." He sounded bored.

"...yes, and then I –"

"—How does this phone work?"

Nicole looked down into her tea. "I don't really know. It creates a signal and transmits it to a tower which amplifies it and sends it to the other phone, where the other person can hear my voice. At least that's the basics. It's much more complicated than that."

He watched her quietly. "You can speak to someone many miles away in real time."

Nicole's brows lifted. "Yes… how did you—"

She stopped when her eyes met his. Suddenly she felt a strange sensation. Almost like her memories were a flip book and fingers were shuffling through them in rapid succession. She shook her head and the feeling stopped.

Saruman's face held a small frown.

"Continue"

Still feeling a bit disoriented she hesitated, trying to find her last train of thought. "Ah… ok, so once I've dressed for work I drive to the hospital." Nicole had always been a very creative person, so it seemed natural for her to see the memory in vivid colors as she described it, though it was more sharp than usual, almost like she was actually there. She saw her image in a blur of white scrubs pass by the bathroom, grab her lunchbox, slip on her sneakers and pick up the car keys off the hook next to the front door. "Goodbye Josh." She looked over at her husband, who sat in boxers and a tank watching a movie on their laptop. She skipped over to him and kissed his brow. "Love you."

"Yeah, yeah you too" he said, "See you later."

Nicole blew him a kiss and he rolled his eyes. She grinned and stepped out the door, locking it behind her.

"Who is this man?"

Nicole startled. "What?" she looked around her in confusion.

"The man you just told me about," said Saruman.

"I…" Nicole didn't remember speaking any of that aloud. Her eyebrows scrunched together. "He is… was my husband."

"You were married to a human?"

Nicole hesitated again.

Impatiently He sighed and waved his hand. Suddenly she was back in her memory and things were blurring backwards. She stood in the bathroom looking at her own reflection as she put her hair up into a bun for work. The brush passed over her ear, her round ear.

"Ahhh, I see, you were human before." His voice startled her again. "Most interesting."

Nicole shook her head, "I… what are you doing? I didn't tell you that."

"I asked you, and you didn't answer so I looked for myself."

"You just… looked?" Fear filled her. He could pick thoughts from her head, whenever he wanted?

"Continue."

"I don't want to" she said quickly, swallowing nervously, "If it's alright with you."

"It is not alright. You will continue."

Her hackles raised at his tone. 'Not so nice and grandfatherly now is he?' She felt the claws of panic tightening around her throat and took several calming breaths, staring down at her hands. 'Relax Nicole, just think about work. He can't do much with that.'

What followed was a disorienting blur of what a typical day of work as an RN at the hospital looked like. She laughed with her co-workers, examined her patients, called the doctor, read telemetry strips, and administered medications to a patient that had flipped their shit and needed to be sedated. Whenever something that interested him passed through her head he stopped her and everything she knew about that piece of technology whizzed past. After a long time, though Nicole couldn't be sure, because at times it was like reliving a memory and at others like a hazy dream, he sat back and she was once again sitting across from him in the tower. Her mind reeled and the room spun, even though she was sitting still. She held her head tightly between her palms, as if that could stop the vertigo. She was not only nauseous, her heart also ached at seeing all her friends again as if she'd just been in the room with them.

"Tell me about where you grew up. Perhaps there is something useful there."

"How will that help you? My parents were peaceful. They never fought wars-"

"-I will be the judge of what is helpful. "

Just like that, her earliest memories flew past like colorful leaves, blurry and beautiful. it was like watching a documentary of her childhood in fast forward, reverse, and rewind. A nauseating roller coaster she couldn't get off or stop.

Once he'd shuffled through the first 12 years of her life she was again in the tower. The light in the window was fading, but she didn't notice any of that.

Nicole leaned over the side of the chaise and vomited. Then she collapsed limp against the cushions, Sweat made her hair stick to her forehead and neck. She felt chilled and hot all at once. The room would not stop moving. Flashes of her memories flitted across her vision. Her family... her beautiful, loving, silly, ridiculous family.

"Oh my. We will have to try again tomorrow," came the blasé voice of the wizard. "Maufundt, leave a towel and some water for our guest. I do hate the smell of sickness."

She couldn't remember that night, but she was sure the chaise cushion was stained with tears and sweat.

81818 Feb 30th

With a gasp She started to consciousness, shivering. Instantly her thoughts buzzed. She had no notion how to fight him. Mental strength wasn't really one of her natural borne talents. Yes she was smart and liked books, but she was gullible and easily distracted. Bad things when an evil wizard was bent on raiding her mind for ammunition against her friends. Thank God she had thought the trilogy was boring until she was a teen. Saruman was going to search again though. She was in trouble if he looked at the later years of her life. As a sophmore in high school she had read the Simarillion and watched the trilogy a thousand times. She needed to redirect his attention from there... give him something. Advanced chemistry might interest him, and the periodic table of elements, but no doubt Andrew knew much more on all that, if he'd mixed up gunpowder.

He liked war and propoganda. She'd think about WW2 and the Nazi party. Surely he'd find a kindred spirit in Hitler. She chuckled darkly.

Footsteps sounded outside her door. At first she tensed, but let out a whoosh of air and stood when the door opened and Andrew stepped inside. She walked over closer to the window, but stopped a few feet from it. She didn't really want to see what was out there again.

"How are you?" Came his voice. It sounded sympathetic. He was probably faking.

"What do you care?" She said dully.

She heard his steps cross from the door. The chair creaked ever so slightly under his weight. "I came to have you change my bandage."

She looked over her shoulder at him. There was a bowl of water and a fresh towel on the table. What else was there to do in this place. She sighed and crossed back over to sit across from him. Carefully she reached up and unwound the bandage. There was a spattering of dried blood, but no infectious looking drainage. She smiled despite herself. "Good. All the stitches are in place and there's no redness or swelling." She dabbed one end of the towel in the water and sponged the dried blood from the laceration. "You are being a good patient. Keep it up and there will hardly be a scar." She began wrapping the new bandages around his head.

"I see why you chose to be a healer."

Nicole tucked in the end of the bandage and sat.

"Yeah?"

He took her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles. " A moment ago you were about to cry, now you're smiling."

"True" she said. Casually she tugged her hand free and ran it over her hair. Then she folded her arms and looked away.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes Anne," he said warmly, "I believe I owe you something for your generosity."

"How... how did you find me. I mean, how did Saruman know that I was the one who is from Earth? Was he watching me and my friends through birds' eyes or something?

"Is that all?" He chuckled. "I thought you were going to ask me if I could break you out. No, no birds. The answer is simple. Maufundt."

Surprise filled Nicole. "That she orc? What does she have to do with it?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure how it works. They say her human mother was some kind of sorceress. Saruman sent her after me. Gave her a whiff of the magic he used and she sniffed after me like a bloodhound. I imagine thats how she found you as well."

One corner of Nicole's mouth quirked upwards. "A fitting description. She's kind of a bitch."

He laughed loudly, pressing a hand gently to the bandaged side of his face. "Oh Anne! You are wonderful and terrible at the same time." He stood. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She reached out suddenly and grabbed the corner of his sleeve. "Wait!"

He paused and looked down at her.

"I... wasn't going to ask, but since you brought it up... why can't you help me escape?" She whispered the last part, even though they'd been speaking in English the whole time and there was no hope of anyone understanding them.

"Why would I want to do that? Who would change my bandages?"

Nicole almost laughed, thinking he was joking, but the look he gave her made it die in her throat. O...k... She'd try something different.

"Are you planning on staying here forever?" she reasoned. "What makes you think I would want to?"

"Hm, good point." He looked up at the ceiling as if pondering her remark. Then suddenly he crouched so he was eye level with her and took both her hands in his. In surprise she leaned back. "Tell you what. When I leave I'll bring you with me."

She licked her lips nervously. She couldn't believe it would be this easy, but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Ok... so when-"

He wagged a finger at her, "Now now, don't be impatient. I'll work something out and let you know."

"The sooner, the better," said Nicole quietly, looking between him and the door. She could hear footsteps. "Just-"

A finger pressed against her lips. Her wide multicolored eyes flew to his. He winked. "When I promise something, I always deliver."

'What the hell?'

The man stood and moved away. She stared after him with her mouth open. 'He just agreed to get me out, but why do I feel... ugh!"

She jumped up and scrubbed at her lips with a forearm.

The door shut. "Have a seat dear," said a dreaded voice. The wizard moved closer.

She tried to contain her gasp, but she knew her eyes were just a little too wide, and she was sure he could hear her heart pounding. Slowly she moved to comply. Weapons... she'd tell him about weapons.

Sadly, the interview lasted much less time than she thought it would. In addition, he quickly grew tired of her mediocre descriptions of nuclear warheads and rifled through her head again, like a bull in a China shop. She tried to draw it out by thinking of all the horrible things that happened to someone with radiation poisoning. The graphic stuff like skin falling off and malformed babies, etcetera.

"Interesting" he said in a clinical tone, "but you have no idea how to replicate these explosions."

"No" said Nicole just above a whisper. She was fighting the bile rising in her throat. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't. She would go crazy. She looked down and saw a tray of cookies sitting in front of her. 'The sick Bastard. Is this funny to him?' She turned her burning eyes to the wall. I won't cry. Don't give him the satisfaction.'

"You look ill. Can you think of anything else or are we done?"

The way he said done sent alarm bells through her. Was he going to have her killed now.

She couldn't believe the words that came from her mouth next, "I... know how disease is spread. If... you knew how... you could kill thousands with it."

"Spread a plague? The idea has merit, but first one would have to find the disease. There is little time for that now."

He stood. "Tomorrow, you can either tell me why you are here, or you can tell her." He jerked his chin to Maufundt who still at the wall. "You will find my method leaves less scarring."

She was alone again. Nicole didn't think she remembered ever crying this much. Hours later, when she laid awake unable to sleep, she glanced at the window, but it wasn't big enough to... 'What am I thinking? !' She shook herself. ' Get a hold of yourself, you're gonna get out of this... alive. Remember... you've got plenty to live for here. Don't throw it away over fear. In her mind she pictured all her friends. Surely seeing the hobbits again was worth a little suffering, and Gimli's humor and Aragorn's wise face. She'd even be happy to see Gandalf. She sort of blamed him for the predicament she was in, but hey she couldn't be picky about her savior. She'd take anybody. If she was being honest with herself... the one she most wanted to see again. She sighed at the memory of his voice near her ear. She could almost imagine it now. She should have let him kiss her. Then she would have something to distract her from waiting for her executioner to come. An uncomfortable thought occurred to her then. He never said it... but what if he was in love with her already. Nicole turned over to her side. She had to find a way out of this cage. She could handle it if it was just her death, but not his... anything but his.

She hummed a bit to herself recalling how awestruck she had been when she had first seen the exact shade of his eyes shift from bright blue of a sunlit ocean to a stormy tempest. Of course she was so angry at the time that she had refused to acknowledge just how much it had effected her. A sad laugh interrupted the tune on her lips for a moment. Then words filled the darkness around her.

"You, You who smiled when you're in pain. You who soldiered through the profane... We were distracted and shut down"

He had promised her that he would protect her. That was the whole point of the false engagement... It didn't seem to have worked. She couldn't feel angry though, only sad. Sad and desperate.

"so why why would you talk to me at all? Such words were honorable though in vain... their promises as solid as the fog. Where was my watchman then?"

She held her hand up to her face and spun his ring on her finger. How ironic. He'd taken the role so seriously too, to the point where he would have married her even if... if he'd never developed feelings for her, just to satisfy a promise. That was determination if she'd ever seen it. She bet even now, he was driven to distraction trying to find a way to help her. She felt guilty for being caught. If she'd been more careful he wouldn't have to worry...

"You'll be my angel on call, You'll be on demand. The greatest honor of all as my guardian."

81818 Mar 1st

She waited all day for Saruman to come and interrogate her. At first she kept a stiff upper lip and strategized what she might say. When she got tired of that she paced about her room mumbling to herself and thinking of ways to escape. But he didn't come, nor did any food arrive. It was like she had been forgotten. Outside there was loud clamoring, but after one look at the mass of bodies and war machines heading for the gates she shuddered and tried her best to ignore the noise. It grated on her nerves. How could anyone get through that mass of evil to come help her? She knew they were heading to Rohan. What if she had done something to screw up the timeline and Saruman won? These thoughts continued all through the night until the morning when the din seemed to quiet. Apparently Uruk were nocturnal creatures, despite being able to work in the sun, they obviously didn't prefer it. She could still hear raucous laughter, clanging metal, shouting, and trumpeting. Here and there drums beat out a rhythm, as if practicing for a great march. Nicole could not sleep. She didn't want to sleep. She didn't think she had slept since being here... not really. Passing out didn't count, especially not when she had started awake, sweating and trembling all over like she had the flu. The air in this place it was closing in on her. She tried deep breathing, and focusing her mind on martial movement, but The only echoing thought in her head the whole time was 'I have to get out!' Louder and louder the thought came. She needed clean air, trees, grass, sun, stars. The stone surrounding her seemed more sinister the longer she stared around the circular room. It was like granite in a way, but there were no swirls of other color, just obsidian, smooth and without reflection. Did it absorb light like a black hole? Would the prison walls swallow her if she touched them? Some part of her knew the thought was crazy. She paused and pulled sharply at a lock of hair. The pain didn't distract her like she wanted. Her ears were still ringing. Her breathing was too deep and too fast. How much time was passing? "I need to get out!"

A key turned in the lock.

She turned wild eyes to the door.

8181818

Looks like Nicole is freaking out a bit. Elves are supposed to be surrounded by nature after all.

If you look up the lyrics I use, you'll notice I tamper with them a bit in order to apply them to the situation at hand. Thank you to the reader who suggested the song at the end of this chapter. You know who you are, ^_~

Others please feel free to make song or scene suggestions. I have certain things planned out, but I have no problem enriching my story with ideas from readers. XOXOXOX to all of you.