Six Uruks and a Little Lady

March 10, 3019 - The combined armies under the leadership of Aragorn son of Arathorn march forth from Minas Tirith toward Mordor; Frodo and Sam, disguised as orcs, are swept along with Sauron's forces on the Plains of Gorgoroth, heading toward the Black Gates

"Fuck," Nûrzgrat grumbled, staring down the hill toward the tiny settlement. "Not another one."

"At least it is not on fire," Morkoth said reasonably.

Snorting, the leader turned away. "Get the swords."

"What are you doing?" Sandy asked warily. She wasn't particularly happy about the look on Nûrzgrat's face.

"We need things," he growled. "Maybe... we can work somethin' out. Trade... somethin'. I don't know."

Relaxing with relief, she nodded. "Be careful, all right?"

Nûrzgrat rolled his eyes, and grudgingly nodded. If he had his way, they'd just leave the Dunlendings alone, ignore them, give them a wide berth. But their clothes were hanging off them in rags, they had nothing to cook food in, no shoes... Sighing, he tested the weight of his sword for a moment. He hoped it wouldn't come to blows, but these were Dunlendings. Bloodthirsty beasts to rival his own kind. Why else would Sharkû have allied with them? They gave their women freely to his Master as well. What could such Men value, if not their own people?

Eying Frû, Ghru, and Morkoth critically, he tried to see them as the folk down in the village below them would. No, naught but threat there. There just wasn't any way to look... peaceful, when you had so much orc in you it bled out your pores. "Listen to me, boys," he growled fiercely. "We go in, we ask. Nice as we can. They say no, we move on. Are we clear on that? No stealin', no killin'." Glaring particularly at Frû, he snapped, "And no rapin'. You lay one fucking finger on a female, and I gut you right in front of'em. Understand?"

"Don't want one'uh theirs," Frû snarled through clenched teeth. "Had my fill of'em."

"Good. Let's go." Muttering under his breath, Nûrzgrat led the way down the hill toward the settlement in the distance.

Sandy and Brie watched them depart, twin looks of worry on their faces.

"Why ain't we goin' down there?" Razkaar asked. Sandy absently dropped an arm around his shoulders.

"These are... well, allies of Saruman," she replied. "They may or may not be friendly. We just don't know."

"What if... they got kids?" he asked forlornly.

"I don't think now is the time for making friends, Raz," she said apologetically. "At least not until we know what we're dealing with. Come on. I'll teach you how to play my harmonica, okay?"

Distracted by the opportunity to make those wonderful sounds himself, Razkaar followed Sandy back to the campfire eagerly.

Brie remained behind, watching the dark smudges of the Uruk-hai march into whatever awaited them below. She hugged herself against a chill breeze. The sun hadn't risen high enough over the mountains to the east of them to warm their campsite yet.

After a few minutes, she realized Thakûf was standing next to her, likewise watching the males fade with distance. He glanced up and met her gaze, then quickly looked away, his cheeks darkening.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I'm not angry with you, Thakûf," she said quietly. "Not anymore, at least." Smiling a little, she turned to him. "Nûrzgrat talked to you?"

The young Uruk nodded. "He said... not to watch no more. Cause... orcs rape." He winced, as if the newly-learned word were the most repugnant thing he'd ever heard.

"Men do too," she replied. He looked at her with surprise. "It... happened to me. Back home, where I come from."

Thakuf looked utterly incredulous. He'd seen her with the Riders, standing up to them so bravely. She hadn't seemed afraid of them, as Hilda was of him. How could she have suffered by a man's hand, and not cower as Hilda did?

"You ain't... afraid of men?" he asked.

"I was," she sighed, "for a long time. A few years. But I learned that... they don't all do that. Only a few."

"Nûrzgrat said he done it," he snarled with disgust.

"Yes, I know he has," she replied. "So has Ghru. And Morkoth. Frû certainly has. Of course, Nûlkol did. He didn't even care whether his victim was male or female."

"That why you killed him? Cause... he did rape?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry I did that in front of you, but not sorry I did it, if that makes sense."

Thakûf's face contorted with pain all of a sudden. "That's what he was wantin' me to do." His breathing began to quicken as full realization came. "I didn't know." Looking up at Brie desperately, he cried, "He wanted me to get Ghru alone. He wanted me to hold'im. Said he'd... he'd let me do somethin' fun if I helped him."

"But you said no."

Deflating, as if his defiance no longer held the importance it seemed to that day, he whimpered, "He did it anyway, didn't he?"

"Yes. He did it anyway." Taking a deep breath, Brie put her arm around the Uruk's shoulders. "I'm glad you didn't help him. I might have forgiven you for making such a mistake, but Ghru probably wouldn't."

"I just... didn't trust'im," Thakûf said quietly. "I like Ghru. I didn't wanna hurt'im." Looking up at Brie, he said, "He never smiled before you came. Now he smiles."

"He's learning to trust," she said. "No one that's left has ever hurt him. I think... he'll be okay."

"But... he did rape," the Uruk insisted. "Why don't you... why ain't you afraid of him?"

"I was, when I first got here, remember?" she said mildly. "I was terrified of him. But he didn't do that to me. I learned to trust him."

Thakûf pondered her words. Still, it was devastating to find out that his elders had done the things that so hurt Hilda that she couldn't even look at him...

"So... you got better, then?" he asked. "You didn't fear men?"

"After a time, no," she said kindly. "Why are you asking so many questions about this, Thakûf?"

"Nûrzgrat did rape," he said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. "I thought... he was good. The best of us. But he ain't."

"Sometimes, we only turn out well after we've gone through painful things," she told him. "Nûrzgrat isn't proud of what he did; none of them are. I think... Sandy and I being part of the group... made him see women differently, in a way he'd never thought of us before. Now, he remembers what he did, and sees it happening to us in his mind. It's different, when you see someone as a person, an equal, even a friend. I don't think he'll ever, ever hurt another woman."

Nodding, Thakûf turned toward the campfire, but stopped. Without looking at her, he asked quietly, "We're different, though, ain't we? Hilda ain't gonna stop bein' scared of us. Is she?"

Brie shook her head sadly. "I don't think she will, no."

Thakûf winced and dragged himself over to sit next to Razkaar, who was blowing tuneless raspberries through the harmonica as hard as he could and laughing wildly.


The setting sun was casting long shadows on the ground when Sandy suddenly raised her head. Her eyes met Brie's, equally curious and a little frightened. The young Uruk-hai with them were also looking around, ears pricked to the strange sound.

"Is that... a child crying?" Sandy asked hesitantly. Standing up, she looked westward, and saw the four Uruk males slowly walking towards camp. They were laden with bulky packs, but something was odd. Nûrzgrat's burden was moving, and apparently wailing pitifully.

"What the hell?" Brie breathed as she rose to stand by her friend.

As they neared, the women realized that Nûrzgrat held a tiny child. It was clinging to him, reaching over his shoulder and grasping at the air, crying and sometimes screaming. All four Uruk-hai were grim-faced and silent.

"I know I didn't put 'kids' on the shopping list," Sandy snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's this about?"

"Sandy!" Brie admonished, rushing forward. When she took the child from Nûrzgrat, she realized it was a little girl, no more than two years old, with distinctive features.

"Oh my god," she whispered, holding the distraught girl close. Apparently sensing a sympathetic adult, she clung tightly to Brie and held on for dear life. "She's..."

"I know!" Nûrzgrat roared, flinging his pack down furiously and stomping around the camp, kicking things. "We asked for food, and they gave us that!"

"You can't be serious!"Sandy cried, going to Brie and rubbing the child's back.

"It is true," Morkoth growled, dropping his sack wearily. "When they saw us, they rushed their females and children into shelters. Hiding them from us." He sat heavily on the ground and rubbed his forehead.

"The men met us," Ghru continued, his breath coming in angry gasps. "Said they'd paid their tribute to Saruman, and we couldn't have no more of their females. Said they'd fight us if they had to."

"There were only a few of them," Morkoth said. "We could easily have bested them. They knew this."

"Offered us anything, if we'd leave'em be." Ghru grimaced. "They threw things to us, like getting near us would get'em dirty."

"I asked if they had food to spare," Nûrzgrat broke in. "I ain't had bread in so long..." He looked wistful for a moment, then snarled, "They handed over the child. Said she was one of ours, and we were welcome to her. 'Not much meat on'er,' they said. They were fucking starving her, cause her mum died birthin' her, and she come about from... from one of us rapin' her mum." He spat on the ground and resumed his pacing.

Razkaar and Thakûf slowly approached, staring at the sniffling little girl. Her big yellow eyes flicked between them as she peered out through Brie's hair. Her head rested on the woman's shoulder, forehead burrowed into Brie's neck.

"What's her name?" Raz asked.

"Somethin' filthy you don't wanna know," Nûrzgrat snarled.

"Can I give her a name?" Razkaar looked hopefully from Brie to Nûrzgrat.

"She ain't a pet!" the leader roared. Raz recoiled as if he'd been struck.

"Nûrzgrat," Brie warned, then looked at Raz. "What did you have in mind, Raz?"

"Ilsa," he replied hesitantly. "She's pretty like Ilsa. Just... our kinda pretty."

"I think that would be a wonderful name. Thank you, Razkaar," Brie said, smiling at him. He grinned back.

"I want us the fuck outta here before those sons of whores decide they wanna get the drop on us in the night," Nûrzgrat growled. "Pack up our shit and move out now. Off your ass, Frû! Move it!"

Herding them like a rabid sheepdog, Nûrzgrat pushed his charges along until his fury finally dissipated and he could think clearly. The child got passed from one set of arms to another as each carrier grew tired. Every time he looked at the little girl, he felt a mix of anger and relief. There were so many things to be angry about in this child: how she was made, what happened when she was born, how she was treated, how easily she was discarded as if she were an animal... He didn't want Brie and Sandy to know she slept among the dogs of the village and battled them for scraps.

What relieved him was that she even existed. He'd never in his life seen a female of their kind. As far as he'd known, they weren't even possible. Surely there was hope if they could make females.