Warning, mention of beating, and injuries. It is getting dark...
The ropes around his wrists hurt. They were too tight and they cut into his skin every time he moved. Mace looked around at his fellow captives. Strider was still unconscious. When he would wake up, he would have one hell of a headache. Mace knew his friend would probably wake up soon. The ork had thrown him into the cell against the wall since he was struggling. He hit his head on the wall since his hands were tied behind his back.
Mace looked away. His eyes met Yvan's, who was sitting next to Strider, carefully watching the ranger, but unable to do anything since his hands were tied down as well. Mace recognized the grave expression of his oldest friend. They were in trouble. Not only because they got captive, but because the chief of the rangers and heir to the throne of Gondor was now in the hands of the witchking. Their only luck was that the witchking did not realize who he held captive. Mace hoped that would last them a bit longer.
Lopin was standing next to Rithil, trying to grab the small knife the man had hidden inside his dreadlocks. It sounded easier than it was since Lopin was unable to see what he was doing. But the youngest ranger had agile fingers and soon he got it out, quickly starting to cut his bonds. Rithil was the first to be freed after him.
The dreadlocked ranger moaned softly as he rolled his shoulders. "I know we are captives, but can't they give us a more comfortable cell?" he asked, frustrated. "No, Rithil. That is why they call it a cell." Mace replied softly, wanting to slap him, but was unable to, since his hands were still bound. Lopin snickered as he moved to Yvan to undo his ropes. Rithil moved to Mace, starting to undo the strange knots in the rope.
"Imagine that. A cell with fluffy pillows. I bet if you ask nicely you can have the pink one Rithil." The youngest ranger said, earning a laugh from the others.
"Oh.. damn it Lopin. Stop making me laugh. It hurts." Yvan moaned softly as he grabbed his bruised ribs with his hand. The rangers turned back to silence for a bit. Mace exhaled in relief as his hands were unbound. He rubbed his aggravated wrists, glad to have them free again.
Strider moved, a soft moan escaping his lips. His eyes fluttered open, before closing almost immediately. "Damn it." He cursed. Mace raised his eyebrow. He never heard the ranger curse before. "Slow down friend. You hit your head badly." He said as he crawled over to the injured ranger. He quickly undid Striders bindings and helped the ranger up just a bit. Strider grabbed his head with two hands. "How are you feeling?" Mace asked. He was no healer, but he knew enough to indicate how bad it was. "Like my head is split in two," Strider stated. "How long was I out?" He sighed, rubbing his face. "Not that long. The ork just left."
The injured ranger closed his eyes again, covering his face with his hands. He looked up, but Mace could see his head had trouble processing what he was seeing. He was lucky the cell wasn't that brightly lit or he would be in a lot more pain. "How are the others?" Strider asked, moving against the wall with the help of the much larger ranger. "We are fine. you are the one with the concussion." Rithil replied as he was hiding the blade back into his hair.
Strider moved his head between his legs, slowly breathing in and out. Mace had seen the ranger do it before, mostly to control himself. "We are here for you Strider." Mace gripped his shoulder gently before he exchanged a look with his fellow ranger. They all knew who the man with them was. And they knew he needed to be protected at all cost.
"They are not after me. You heard them, they are after Ram." Mace exchanged a look with Yvan. He knew Strider was right. And if it was so, they were in a lot of trouble.
To calm himself down, Mace looked around to see what cell they were in. They were just below the ground as the stairs of the broken-down castle did not lead them that deep. They could stand in the room, but if Mace would reach up, he could touch the ceiling. One of the walls had 4 small square windows. Big enough to bring in fresh air and light, but too small to even get an arm out. It was connected to the outside world since the grass was growing on the other side.
The room also held one bunk bed, but the top bed was too far gone to have anyone sleep in it. It showed these used to be barracks and not cells. The room was large enough to hold the five men with room to spare. Rithil had made his way to the door, looking rather excited. He pointed at the key-shaped hole in the door. So, Mace's hunches about this being a barrack were right. A prison would never have keyholes on the inside. Mace got to his feet and walked to the door. He placed his hand on the handle and pushed it down. He knew it would be locked, but orks were not always smart and he had been in an unlocked cell before. But the door did not open. It was a wooden door, clad with crudely forged iron. A typical cell window with iron bars at eye level. It did not seem orklike, so it was probably a human ruin they took hold of. Rithil looked around. "Anyone still got their kit?" He asked. But the rangers all shook their heads after a short inspection. They all had a lockpick set, but not everyone was as skilled at Rithil. But the orks had been thoroughly and taken most of their hidden weapons. Besides the small blade in Rithil's hair. But that blade was unfit for lockpicking so they looked around for other means. "There is a nail in the wood, here." Yvan pointed at the wood. That sends them to work quickly, trying to pry the nail from the wood.
Mace looked out of the small window. Behind the door was a squared room that held two doors on each wall. On the wall to the left were the stairs going upwards into a long hallway. That hallway went around a few large rooms before it ended up at a broken-down gate. Mace knew they were not close enough to Mordor to be in much danger out in the fields, besides the orks from this ruin. But they were far too close for his liking.
He looked around the room again. A few of the doors were open and he could see the shapes of similar cells behind them. In the middle was a beam with a torch attached to it. There was no guard. "Hello?" He called out, not expecting a response.
Strider looked up from his spot close to the door. There was no response coming from the other cells. Mace was about to breathe in relief. But then he heard a shuffle coming from one of the other cells.
"Mace?" A muffled voice sent his fellow rangers to their feet. The large ranger cursed below his breath. So she was here. This changed everything. He looked at his family. They all got to their feet and various looks of despair flashed over their faces. He turned back to the window.
"Hey shortstuff." He tried to see which cell she was in. "How are you doing?"
He heard the sound of her moving. He guessed her hands were still tied. "Been better. You?"
He heard a soft thud before he saw her face pop up at the cell door on the left wall. She looked alright, but he could see the relief on her face as they made eye contact.
"You alone?" She asked, sounding slightly hopeful. Mace shook his head."No, we are all here. We got run over by their sheer numbers. How did you end up here? I thought you were in Mirkwood."
Ram snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah… well. Turns out their king doesn't like me very much." She bit her lower lip, her eyes flashed towards the stairway on the opposite wall. "Is Strider with you?" She asked, a lot softer than before. Mace looked down, seeing the ranger trying to get up. He placed his hand on his shoulder gently. "Stay put, we don't want you toppling over." Mace looked back at Ram. "He is here, but he hit his head pretty badly. I think he has a concussion." Ram cursed, and in a moment of despair, she leaned against the wooden door. "This isn't good Mace. He got me right where he wants me. I don't know… I don't know if…" Her voice started to shake. He could see the panic in her eyes. "Hey, hey. Calm down, you will be fine." He felt a shoulder touch his. In a reaction, he grabbed Strider, who was standing wobbly on his legs. "Ram, Ram. Look at me."
The female ranger in the other cell looked up, tears wetting her cheeks. "You are strong Ram. You can fight him. Gandalf taught you how." Strider spoke calmly. Mace moved a bit, no longer able to see his cousin.
"No, Strider. You don't know what happened. He has taken over before. I am not strong enough." She sounded scared, there was more fear in her voice than Mace ever heard. Strider swayed and Mace grabbed hold of him. "Yes, you are. Look at me, you are. And you know why? Because I love you, Cailean." The sniffing sound of Ram lessened. "I love you too, Estel." The reply came. "Someone is coming." Ram moved away from the door, as did Strider.
Mace on the other hand kept looking. He saw the torchlight before he saw the man walking down. "Kallen!" Mace called out, relieved to see his fellow ranger walk down the stairs. He looked down on Strider, but the shock on the ranger's face did not fit with his relieved feeling. Kallen stopped and smiled, walking over to their cell. "Well well, if it isn't Mace. Look at you. All trapped and nowhere to go. I did not know you were here." He looked over Mace's shoulder. "And you got your kin with you. Arthadain's royals." He spat on the floor. Mace's hand shot out of the window, ready to grab the ranger but Kallen stepped backward, snicking. "You are just as slow as your cousin. Did you finally put one and one together Mace? I am not to be trusted. You knew, and yet you trusted me with your precious cousin."
"What are you doing here Kallen? Come to gloat?" Ram shot at the ranger, her voice filled with anger and hate. "No, sweetheart, I came to get you to meet your future husband." He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. A couple of orks emerged from the stairs. "Please behave, or I might have to cut some of your pretty family over there." The orks moved quickly and pulled Ram along. Taking Kallen's threat seriously, she did not fight and shot Mace one last look of despair before she walked up the stairs.
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