Chapter 21

Captive

Arestel stirred from her deep slumber. Her eyelids fluttered slowly, trying to make out what was happening around her. She let out a groan, her tied wrists burned in pain. She then slowly lifted herself from the ground and leaned her back on the wall.

Orcs came to and fro, purposely ignoring her. They carried weapons with them whilst some pulled carts. She scanned the room; no sign of either Bolg or Khamúl. Following her last meeting with the Ringwraith, the Orcs were more hostile to her. She would only scoff at them, all the while trying to reach the mind of someone from Lórien. But her gift was unable to penetrate the evil power of Dol Guldur, and even Lady Galadriel was having a hard time. Arestel was not in the best condition: her wrists and legs were tied to the wall, her hair was a mess, and she was hungry. Hunger was never a good sign, at least for her. If these Orcs were as friendly as the Dwarves, perhaps she could talk it out.

One orc stopped in front of her. Arestel didn't notice; she was too busy trying to reach the mind of her kin. She stared absentmindedly on the wall across the room and one rrc thought the elf was actually looking at him. He growled and approached her, curling his fist. When he stopped a few inches near her, the elf didn't flinch. This orc, Dergu, gritted his teeth in annoyance when Arestel continued to ignore him.

He raised his heavy and calloused hand into the air and then slapped Arestel's cheek. She fell back to the floor in surprise of the sudden impact. Realizing that she was slapped by an orc, Arestel scowled. She instantly sat up again and pushed the orc out of her face.

"What is your problem?" she demanded. Dergu only laughed at her.

"You pathetic albino elf," the Orc continued to laugh. She blinked at the term he used to describe her.

I used to call Glorfindel a lot of names but "albino elf" is just plain rude! Her mind echoed in annoyance. She decided not to provoke this orc anymore or else she would be in a bigger problem. She huffed and closed her eyes, going back to her business earlier.

Upon being ignored once again, Dergu stood up and kicked Arestel's legs gently. She shot her eyes open and looked up to him with an annoyed look.

"You are such an attention hog, have you noticed?" She remarked mockingly, starting to get tired of Dergu.

His eyes widened and he instantly grabbed Arestel's silver hair. He lifted the hair until Arestel cringed in pain. Dergu laughed out loud, clearly enjoying the sight of her. The other Orcs walking around stopped shortly when their commander arrived in the room, immediately making his way towards their prized captive. Dergu, in fear of Bolg's unpredictable rage, hastily dropped Arestel and she fell with a thud. Some of her silver hair remained on Dergu's right hand, and he violently shook the strands of hair off.

Bolg glared at Dergu and the latter flinched. Then, the commander looked down to Arestel to see how she was doing. The daughter of Elrond refused to look at Bolg; she had her eyes set on the ground and waited until Bolg would leave her. Alas, he did not. Bolg knelt in front of her, not daring to take his eyes off the elf. Arestel was starting to feel uncomfortable but still remained dauntless. A staring contest was not new to her, having played this game with her brothers for years.

Bolg reached out and lifted her chin up, forcing her to look at him in the eyes. Arestel mentally cursed her luck and glared at Bolg. The commander said nothing; he only stared at her for what seemed like forever. A few seconds later she slipped his chin from Bolg's hand.

"Are you going to stare at me because it's ticking me off! If you've got something to say, say it," Arestel scoffed. She could tell that some of these orcs were seething already. Bolg smirked at her and she cringed. Gross, she thought.

Bolg stood up and turned to his warriors. "What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and get ready!"

The warriors immediately sprinted off, including Dergu who had not dared to spare Arestel another glance ever since Bolg arrived. Arestel narrowed her eyes in confusion and Bolg turned back to her with a glint in his eyes.

"The Golden Wood will taste the power of the Dark Lord once we get over with it," Bolg confidently exclaimed. "Not Celeborn, nor Galadriel, nor Glorfindel could stop us now."

"How come?" Arestel asked in a slightly mocking voice. "Glorfindel is flawless! His voice is as beautiful as a crystal clear lake! He is strong and brave and very wise! He is enough to wipe out your whole army." Wow. She sounded like one of those elf maids who always fawned over Glorfindel in Imladris. Those elf maids who would talk ceaselessly about how Glorfindel's hair shone like gold under the moonlight, or those who would basically kiss the ground he walked on.

She frowned for a second. She missed Glorfindel and the others. A lot.

Bolg let out a deep, forced laugh, snapping her back into her hideous reality. "I am sure the Elves of Lórien are in quite a panic right now, seeing as their young lady is missing and held captive in this fortress."

"You make me sound so special," Arestel grumbled. "But I don't think they will be hindered, seeing as I am away from them. If you must know, I'm mischievous and quite a burden so I really think Glorfindel and the others wouldn't mind if I stay here a little longer."

Meanwhile in Lórien…

"Lord Glorfindel, what are you doing?" Celeborn inquired once he entered the golden lord's room.

Glorfindel was in his full armor, helm and all. He ignored Celeborn's question, more likely, he was not paying attention to the other lord. Yet, Celeborn waited until Glorfindel was ready to go.

"Lord Celeborn," Glorfindel finally acknowledged the other lord's presence. "What brings you here?"

"Where are you going?" asked Celeborn again, examining the appearance of the elf captain.

Glorfindel shook his head and went for the doorway, gently pushing Celeborn aside. "I will be off to find Arestel. That child is way beyond her boundary of mischief now." He tried to pass Celeborn again but the other lord blocked his exit.

"Glorfindel, we all know this is not another mischief," Celeborn calmly stated. "I am worried too."

"I know," Glorfindel snapped. "But why is it that I'm the only one trying to get her back?"

Celeborn fell silent and watched as Glorfindel finally exited room, all the while putting his helm on. He mounted Asfaloth and rode back to Caras Galadhon, hoping to ask for Galadriel's permission to leave the Golden Wood.

Bolg seethed in annoyance as the girl gave him a mocking smile. The commander knew Arestel was only playing with him, but given his terrible temper, Bolg continued to growl under his breath as he clearly refrained himself from hitting the girl. He did not know why Khamúl would bother to keep this girl away when she cannot be of use to them. The golden dragon they were so much worried about was not present, being busy in the matters concerning the sons of Elrond in the east. If she was there only to provoke the Elves of Lórien, then Bolg wondered what took the elves so long to rescue her.

The son of Azog huffed, earning the girl's attention once more. She looked up to him and waited for him to say something. But he remained silent. Arestel rolled her eyes at him and decided to speak no more. When Bolg seemingly had enough, he lifted his chin up and turned his heel towards the exit. His warriors followed him in a straight line and from what Arestel could see, all of them were leaving at once. Before Bolg reached the door, he turned back to Arestel with a smirk.

"By dawn, we'll have the Golden Wood for Lord Sauron."

"Yeah. Send my regards to Lady Galadriel."

Next Chapter: The invasion of Lorien begins, and without Bolg to watch over her, Arestel finally makes a move to save herself. And who will be there to rescue her in the end? Hm?

Oookay... so this is more like a filler chapter. Thank you for everyone who continues to read and review! What a motivation you guys are! :3 I can guarantee another action-filled chapter next week so stay tuned! Here's another hint for the next chapter: M̶i̶r̶k̶w̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶s̶p̶i̶d̶e̶r̶s̶. (Sshh! Don't tell anyone!)

Have a great day!