Tara woke to Ilzin's screams. The door of her prison flew open, and as she jolted up, a thrown dagger hit her, just under her right shoulder. The pain knocked the wind out of her, and Darian easily pried Ilzin from her arms. He shoved the baby aside, hissing, "You will torment me no longer!"
Deep sleep disrupted by the sudden attack had Tara confused, and all she could do was try to bat Darian's arms away. But war had made him strong, and in a moment he was kneeling between her legs, pushing her down to the ground.
Tara realized that the agonizing pain was her salvation. She left off fighting an impossible battle with Darian's arms, and grasped for the knife, Ilzin's terrorized screeching rattling her mind the whole time.
But Darian was too quick. He saw what she was about, and grabbed the dagger, twisting and tearing it away, throwing it across the room. Tara was blinded by the pain. Now her back was on the ground, and he was cursing her as a whore as his hands, under her dress, dug cruelly into her bare thighs.
Tara screamed, a wave of paralysis stunning her as she realized what would surely now happen.
"I'll teach you what you are, you bitch, and you'll love it..." he panted, "You'll beg me for it..."
Just as all the strength was seeping out of her, Tara looked to Ilzin, wailing helplessly on the floor.
She strained for Ilzin's twisted blanket, the pain in her shoulder agonizing. Her fingers reached, grasping, as Darian's hand wrenched at his breeches. Tara didn't pray. She was no longer afraid. Her fingers brushed, then clasped around she sharpened wooden stake.
She felt his bare body against her now, and bile rose in her throat.
Screaming in fury and pain, Tara thrust the stake up through the soft skin beneath his chin. Darian's eyes went wide with shock, and Tara smirked at him savagely. She could see the wood through his open mouth, and it was a beautiful sight.
Darian grasped his throat, pulled the stake out. Blood sprayed everywhere. Tara scrambled away, snatching Ilzin into her arms, as Darian fell face down on the floor. He didn't move again.
She wanted to fall apart; she wanted to curl up and cuddle her baby and nurse her wounds. But all that would have to be later. Tara stood up. Only then did she realize how much blood she was loosing. She had no time to indulge dizziness or pain or weakness. Touching Darian was revolting, but she ripped a circle of keys from his belt. She grabbed Ilzin with her uninjured left arm. With the right, she yanked Darian's short sword from its scabbard.
She gave his head a hard kick, but as she did, the full realization set in. I've killed a Captain of Gondor.
Which made her thievery look like giving charity to war orphans. There was nothing to do now but run, and there was only one way that Tara thought was safe for her to escape.
Through the very pits that were her worst nightmare.
"We can do this," she told Ilzin. The baby clung to her, shaking and whimpering. Tara kissed her brow and breathed, "Let's go find our Ushatar!"
She fled the room, grateful to find that Darian had pulled the guards off the door before his disgraceful attack.
And then, Simeon came down the deserted hallway.
"Tara! What is this?"
The pain in her shoulder was beyond brutal, but she lifted the sword and rushed at Simeon. Tears finally spilled down her cheeks and she cried, still advancing, "Get out of my way! I'll kill you, I swear it!"
When he didn't move-his hands up, beseeching her-Tara swung the sword as she'd seen Ushatar do. But Simeon dodged around her, and Tara slipped past him, running now. She could hear his cry of dismay behind her, as no doubt he'd discovered his captain's body. Tara could only hope that Simeon, seeing Darian's state of undress, would have mercy on her and turn his back to her escape. But she heard the sound of his boots, hammering the floor behind her.
Suddenly, the muffled sounds of an explosion thundered up through the windows of the tower. She could hear Men shouting on the parade ground, but whether it was good fortune or no, Tara wouldn't test it. She had no idea which way to run, save for down.
She rushed through the cold, black stone halls, darting with all her old Osgiliath speed to escape Simeon. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Ignoring the ghoulish menace of Saruman's lingering presence. The halls were all but empty, though once she had to press herself back against the winding stairs, as five fully armed knights rushed through an obsidian hallway.
And then there was no where to go but through the wide open hall. But there was no one there, and Tara was frantic to get into the bowels of Orthanc. She darted across the hallway, running for a tiny stairwell in a shadowed corner. The cutting of the stones seemed at odds with the Numenorian construction of the rest of the tower, and Tara's heart surged with hope: this seemed just the sort of passage that would be Orc-cut, leading to the pits.
"Ho there! You! Stop!"
"No!" Tara hissed, bolting now. Ilzin's tiny claws dug into her chest, above her pounding heart.
"She's getting away!" a Man cried. "After her!"
"Tara, stop!" Simeon shouted, finding her at last. "Don't harm her!" he screamed to the knights who now gave chase.
She stumbled down the tight steps, the air dank and musty, smelling of mold and foulness with every step of the descent.
"She's going into the catacombs!" a knight shouted, terror in his voice.
"And she's got the Lord Captain's sword, you fool! And he is missing! You-squire!-get to the barracks and bring back help! She must be captured! She's done evil to our captain!"
Tara could hear Simeon's protests, muffling now as she tore down the endless stairwell. Darkness swallowed her, but as the knights closed on her, rounding corners, she saw flashes from their torches.
Twisting her ankle, Tara bit back her curse, realizing she could no longer run. The stairs ended, and she was on solid ground again. She turned the blade down, and clutched the hilt as she felt her way forward through utter blackness. Ilzin hissed softly, just as Tara's fingers touched a wall before her. For a moment, she panicked, until she realized that it was a door. She felt around blindly, found the ring, and gave it a pull. The door was stuck. She found that it was barred, and though the bar was easily lifted, the wooden door was stuck fast.
Her wound tore as she yanked with all she had, falling back with the force as the door came open. A blast of sour air struck her, and when she went forward, she collided with knee-high rubble.
Something was very wrong. Bending down, Tara felt dirt and grime, and broken wood, and then smooth, long objects. As torches lit the hall behind her, Tara saw what she was clutching, and a faint cry of horror escaped her.
Everywhere, there were bones. As if a hundred Orcs and Uruk-hai, maybe more, had died in a surge of rubble against the door. The walls were black with mold. She suddenly remembered something Bartaazgur had said, about his being told that the River Isen had rushed into the pits. Her heart fell into her stomach, as she realized the devastation the river would have caused.
She could hear the knights' voices now, and there were many of them. They surely knew, now, what she had done. They'd accuse her of seducing, then murdering their lord, and there was no way out...
Suddenly, Ilzin began to bounce against her, clutching with her little legs and bobbing up and down. It was almost as if she was excited, and happy. The baby, understanding with her empathetic abilities that they were followed by enemies, had remained quiet thus far. But now a little squeal escaped her, a gleeful little sound that made no sense at all.
Tara thought, perhaps, she was imagining it. The blood loss was hard on her, and she was afraid she was becoming delerious.
Ilzin's little hands gripped the collar of her dress, pulling hard, purring and making little squeals all at once. Tara could not imagine what would have her traumatized baby so excited.
Unless...
"Ushatar!" she breathed.
The explosion... Could Ilzin scent her father, coming to rescue them?
The knights were closing on her now, but Tara, revived by hope, picked her way forward, over bones and debris and packed, dried mud.
Hope was quickly dashed. Torches suddenly illuminated the entrance to the pits, and Tara saw that she was trapped. It seemed that wooden staircases and ramps had been employed to descend into the pits, and all of these had been destroyed in the flood. She stood on the edge of a rocky cliff, at a height that would kill her if she dared to jump it.
"Seize her!"
Hands reached for her, and Ilzin screamed wildly. Tara spun and tried to fight, but she was quickly disarmed, and then they had her.
"You've killed our captain, you whore!"
"You're going to hang!"
Tara twisted and fought, biting them, taking blows to her face, her body. She held Ilzin as tightly as she could, trying to shelter the baby, but Ilzin was ripped away from her again. Tara screamed in pain, and sobbed in frustrated terror. She could hear Simeon joining the struggle on her behalf, screaming that she'd been attacked, she'd defended herself... But they called him traitor and pushed him back, and made to drag her away.
And then, the pit illuminated from the bottom, and three dark figures came into sight.
"Ushatar!" Tara screamed, until a strong arm wrapped around her throat, choking off her breath.
He could barely see her, so engulfed in enemies was she. Ushatar slammed his torch into the mucky ground, and ran for the rock wall. His companions followed as he clawed his way up.
"There's stairs cut into the wall on the other side!" Baartazgur hissed. Ushatar hardly heard him, he was so enraged. There were a good twenty of them up there, and he no longer heard Tara or Ilzin's cries.
Suddenly, Ras flew past him, tearing up the wall like a spider. The Men were leaving now, dragging Tara and Ilzin away, but in moments Ras was upon them. Howling like a demon, he grabbed the closest Man and pitched him over the side of the cliff. The Man's screams ended in a terrible crunching sound, as his spine shot through his stomach on impact.
The third Man flew off by the time Ushatar hit the ledge. He drew his sword and rushed into the fray. Ras, sword and dagger in hand, was slicing through Men like Men cut soft butter. Screams of Men's terror now echoed through the cavern; Ras was on a Man's back, ripping a throat out with his teeth. Baartazgur was cutting them down almost as fast. In moments, Ushatar fought his way to Tara.
She was beaten and bloody, only half-conscious, and a roar of fury exploded from Ushatar's throat. Tara hung limply in his arms, crying breathlessly, trying to hold him with weak hands.
The Men now began to run away, and Ushatar screamed, "Where's Ilzin!?"
"Here!"
Ushatar turned, and saw that Baartazgur had the little one in his arms. The Men were running away, scurrying over bones and rocks and twisted lumber, but a great light was coming towards them.
Reinforcements.
Ushatar lifted Tara into his arms. "Ras!"
Ras was on the ground, face and claws in the entrails of a screaming Man.
"Ras!" Ushatar shouted again. He gave a hard kick to Ras's thigh. The Orc, lost, snarled back at Ushatar.
"I need you!" Ushatar cried.
Ras shook his head fiercely, red blood flying from his face. His eyes were wild and unseeing.
Ushatar turned, and ran, with Baartazgur on his heels. In moments, he scented Ras coming up behind him. Ushatar glanced back; Ras was with him again.
They tore for the precarious, skinny stairway, as bright light filled the cavern.
A host of Men appeared behind them, and they ran, then leaped, down to the floor.
