~Orcish Hoard~
A door slammed in the distance.
I heard blurred words, faint and far, far away.
My eyelids were heavy, so heavy I couldn't open them.
Where was I?
I felt the steady trot of a horse, for I could feel it under me, its steps beating at the ground.
It was cold, so very cold and I knew that I was still in what I had woken up in, however long ago that was.
The air around me smelled cold and foul.
Darkness still enveloped me. Eyes so heavy...
Any last remains of light I felt vanished.
Whoever was there unseated himself and I faintly heard the sound of the horse being led away.
Much effort was needed in order to breathe now, I felt like I was suffocating.
Where was I?
More words were exchanged, spoken roughly, as a command.
I shivered. It was so cold.
Whoever was carrying me changed the position he held me in.
That was when I felt the thick, bumpy, oily skin.
I was in the hands of an orc.
There was more talking and then I distinguished the heavy grunts and other inhumanly sounds as orc.
I wasn't in the hands of only one orc. I was in the possession of several orcs.
The sudden fear that enveloped me sent me back into the deeper, darker depths of unconsciousness.
0x01 graphic
~Dwelling On Imprisonment~
When I awoke again, it was not because of any horrid noise or merciless pounding on my door.
All I heard was the sound of a bird twittering away with a morning song outside my window.
My window?
I opened my eyes and sat up.
Then I was overcome with exhaustion.
I fell back down onto the bed.
The bed?
I glanced around and saw that I was in a rather small room.
The two windows facing each other had no covering.
It looked like as if I was in a tower room of some sort.
The walls were made of large, dark gray stone and the room was kind of cold.
I felt the cool, fresh air flow in through the windows and then the sound of bird's wings fluttering through the sky.
My bed was clean and white, not raised far off the ground. Only a thin blanket covered me, but it was not overly chilly.
There was a wooden desk on the other wall and a small jar of ink was laid beside some papers.
I rested for a second and then conjured enough strength to sit up, stand up, and walk over to the windows.
I sat down beneath one and looked out, breathing heavily.
I gasped at the horror that I saw.
All I saw was flatland, but no grass or trees. It was all dirt.
Looking down, I saw that I was extremely high up, elevated as if I was a prisoner or this was a watchtower.
Obviously this was not a watchtower anymore. I was a prisoner in a creepy old castle of some sort.
Reaching out, I felt the smooth sides of stone and eliminated any chance of climbing down.
I would not possibly have the energy anyway.
Not far away from the tower was what looked like a very large crack on the ground.
From my point all I saw was this ugly black cracked gap in my path.
I slowly inched over to the other window and saw that the crack continued all the way there.
The only thing that connected the two sides was one wooden bridge that looked old, worn, and very dangerous.
From here I saw a few heaps of rocks piled on top of each other.
One that caught my attention was the highest one, not far from the side of the black crack.
The stone on top was what looked like a flat surface, flat and smooth and rather long.
I wondered what it was used for.
I moved to the table not farther away and crawled up onto the chair.
There was a piece of paper there that looked ancient and it was dusty.
The ink in the ink jar was also dried, the feather pen dried to it.
I frowned and thought for a moment.
What day was it? When was the last time I was in Rivendell?
I had not recognized my surroundings.
A few minutes later I was back in bed.
When I fell back onto bed a sharp jolt of pain went through my shoulder.
Jesine.
What did she have to do with this? There must be something.
I then heard voices outside my door. Orc voices.
Seconds later the door opened and two of the most hideous things stepped into the room.
I nearly blanched.
They were big, ugly, and utterly repulsive.
And they also brought in the worst stench I ever smelled.
I wanted to be sick.
Then they turned their red and murky brown eyes to me.
As they walked toward me, the stench nearly overpowered me.
And the closer they got the more ugly they got.
What the bloody hell did they want?
0x01 graphic
~Disgusting Servants~
They came to stand near the side of the bed and I was suffocating.
The line "You are what you eat" came to haunt me.
I hope these things did not eat rotting corpses and animal waste because that's what they smelled like and what they looked like.
One of them had a greenish purplish color of skin that was covered with brown and black warts. There were many large slashes, sewn together rather awkwardly. The stitches did not hold the flesh closed nor was it even.
His eyes were a shade of red and swampy green, an interesting color combination but creepy either way. Both eyes were swollen and looked like as if they were going to jump out at me.
The oily black hair matted against his forehead dripped something. What, I didn't want to know.
I did not want him to open his mouth. The horror that awaited me there would be unbearable. I just knew it.
His friend was not much better, if not much worse.
Most of the disgusting odor originated from him.
His skin was not as colorful as his friends, but it was a muddy color with even darker brown warts and craters.
I shuddered.
There was a deep slash at what looked like where his stomach should be. The dreadfulness I saw there nearly did make me hurl.
His intestines were falling out and were haphazardly stuffed in and sewed up.
I lifted a hand to cover my nose and mouth.
My face started hurting and I noticed that I was frowning rather hard.
The taller ugly thing opened his mouth and I winced inwardly.
I was right. His teeth were not yellow and green as I suspected, but they were brown and black with what looked like worms invading them.
Oh the horror, all right.
I lifted a hand and waved it around in a sign of "no". He closed his mouth again.
Before I could regain my composure, he opened his mouth again and spoke.
Surprisingly, he did not sound all that inhumane, considering he was an elf once before.
His voice was gruff, rather nasally, and it sounded as if his throat was bubbling.
I concluded that it was when a many-legged insect dropped out of it.
I nearly screamed, but I knew if I opened my mouth and inhaled, I would fall over and die because of the nearly poisonous, odorous fumes that come from them.
"Lilana of Rivendell, we have been given to see to your comfort what you remain here," he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
Oh the repulsion was bad enough, but the thought that they would `see to my comfort' did me in.
"What?" I choked out.
A second of silence passed, "Forgive us of our statehood, but Lady Jesine ordered us not to harm you. You are a pawn in this battle and you are not to be harmed...yet," he added.
So I was right, Jesine did sell me off to the enemy.
"If you do not need anything, we will leave now. Do not try anything for you cannot die else all will be lost. You will not go anywhere. We will hear. If you need anything, we are just outside the door."
With that, they stumbled out of the door and I ran to the windows in attempt to get breathable air.
Now what?
0x01 graphic
~Discovery and Hospitality~
The next few days passed by rather slowly.
There was nothing to do and no one to talk to and I would climb up Mordor first before I would openly chat with the two orcs. I shuddered at the thought.
During one of my exploring spouts in the room, I had discovered a hidden panel in the wall.
Actually, I did not discover it, but rather had scratched myself on an uneven block of stone.
When I pulled it out I found three amazing weapon pieces and other smaller items.
One weapon was a long sword, beautiful in artwork and extremely light. Its handle was made of what looked like ivory and gold, its blade was double sided with intricate carvings and pictures of war.
Another item I discovered was a smaller blade, knifelike in size, its handle identical to that of the sword, but its blade was extremely thin and slick, the tip sharper than the king's own knifepoint.
The third were a pair of wrist guards with long, silver sharp spikes along the side. They were heavy, but when I clamped them on, they fit perfectly.
Other things I found inside the chest was a belt that held both the knife and sword, a map piece of what looked like the land north of Middle-Earth, and a leather pouch that contained numerous jewels and gems along with gold and silver chunks.
I had stuffed everything back inside and replaced the wall, returning to the desk and sitting down, thinking.
That day I had received a bath. The large orc whose name was Maibuik carried in a porcelain tub along with two buckets of steaming, clean water. Smelly orc, whose name I later on discovered was Gougar, carried in another two along with rather old, but clean towels and soap. I didn't think it was scented and it turned out it was not.
Oh, but the heavenly thought that the water and towels were clean, the water warm, and the soap usable.
I spent the next hour in luxury.
I had just donned my old clothes when the door burst open and both orcs came back in. Gougar, along with another just equally horrifying orc came in and carried the empty buckets, wet towels, soap and water filled tub away.
Then Maibuik walked in carrying a dress identical to the one I wore, except it was white, and a letter.
He dropped both down on the bed and then left, slamming the door as he exited.
After I had changed, I folded my old dress and placed it onto the chair and then turned to open the letter.
It was from Jesine and it read:
Lilana: I trust you are enjoying the hospitality amongst the lovely orcs. They are by far more friendlier than elves, don't you think so? Get used to it. You'll be spending a long time here.
She signed it with a great flourish. At first I had the most powerful inclination to rip it up, but then decided not to and left it on the desk. Maybe someone will find it someday and know what had happened to me.
I cared naught. I had lost. I wanted to cry.
After that day I had not received any more comforts, not even knowing where they came from. Each day the meals that were prepared were not as disgusting as the deliverers, but it was edible.
The first mean I had absolutely refused to eat what looked like a mixture of dirt and muddy water.
When the disgusting duo returned to clean it up, all they did was exchange grunts and then left.
The next day the meals were more decent: hard bread, water, and an aged piece of fruit.
By that time I was hungry enough to want to eat anything, so I finished the bread and water. The fruit I decided should not be contaminated and if it was, I'd die and leave this torture and imprisonment. The latter did not happen, unfortunately.
The meals continued to be decent and then something that I did not expect to happen did.
This surprised me as much as it would surprise anyone that had lost hope when their beloved horse dying and they had been caged for approximately five days already.
0x01 graphic
~A Surprising Surprise~
It was in the middle of the night when a light awakened me. At first I only opened my eyes and peeked, and then I stared.
Legolas Greenleaf.
Oh, he was a fine sight, all dressed up in one of those earth tone outfits everyone had.
Isn't that similar to the one he wore during the Fellowship thingy?
His candle burned brightly and his elvish aura of light didn't shine all that brightly. I never knew how that worked.
Ready for action, I suppose, he had his quiver full of arrows, his elf-knives, and, of course, his bow. Damn it all, did he look fine.
I sat up and saw that he was reading the letter from Jesine that I had placed on the desk.
When he heard me rustle the thin sheets, he turned around rather quickly, startled.
Tilting my head to the side, my body language basically gave him a question.
He glanced at the door and I knew he had somehow gotten past the guards, but they were still outside.
Raising an eyebrow in question, I quietly stood up and walked over to the desk, sitting down.
I took out a new, but dusty sheet of paper and added a few drops of my drinking water into the dried ink jar.
After stirring with the feather pen, I wrote down, "What are you doing here?"
Setting the candle onto the table, he took the quill from me and replied, "To rescue you."
My head snapped back and I turned to stare at him incredulously.
Shrugging, he walked over to the bed and silently sat down.
A voice came through the door, "Lady Lilana, why are you still awake?"
Startled, I thought frantically and before I could respond the door opened.
I stared at Maibuik with utmost anger and irritation.
"Get out!" I called, "And give me some privacy!"
He frowned, seemingly undecided.
Picking up a slipper, I threw it at him and he caught it without effort.
"Damn it, get out! Go get me something to eat and knock before you enter, cursed orc you!"
Sending a hideous grin my way, he nodded and turned, closing the door quietly behind him.
I spun around and glanced around, frenzied.
There was no sign of the prince.
"Legolas?" I whispered.
Movement caught my eye and I turned to the window. He quietly slipped back in and I visibly relaxed.
"Smart," I said sarcastically and then frowned as his gaze flew to the door. "Maibuik, the ugly one that came in, well, they're all ugly, but he went to fetch some food. Gougar, the even uglier one, went down to sleep. They change night guarding shifts everyday. Don't worry, Maibuik is slow."
He walked, well actually glided, over to me and took a hard grip on my elbow.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, "Do you know the danger you're in?"
I shrugged my arm away from him and went to sit on the bed.
"Actually, I did until I did not think I'd be found. What took you so long anyway?"
He glared at me, "This place is guarded with orcs from every direction and we didn't know you were gone until four nights ago!"
Again I shrugged. "As much as I'd like to leave this place, how will we get out? And the danger, well, the orcs aren't as stupid as I imagined, but they're ugly, smelly, but still have some sense of humanity, or kind of."
"You've gone insane," he stated plainly.
"Yes, I suppose I have," I agreed and then he jumped onto the windowsill again.
A knock came at the door.
When I went to answer it, I thought of an excuse for Maibuik. I opened the door and a plate of bread and water was shoved into my arms.
I looked up at him, "Do you have anything less hard and with a bit more taste?"
It glared at me, "Well, come on, do you?"
"Please?" I added, softening my tone, "I'm not doing well constantly on hard bread, water, and dried fruit."
Although his frown intensified, he took the plate from me and turned, walking away. I closed the door and turned back to the room.
Again, Legolas was nowhere to be seen.
"Legolas?" I asked again and when I had no answer, I repeated his name.
Then I walked over to the window and glanced around. He was not there.
Looking out, I also saw nothing but darkness.
I called his name again, albeit a bit louder and silence was my only response.
A door slammed in the distance.
I heard blurred words, faint and far, far away.
My eyelids were heavy, so heavy I couldn't open them.
Where was I?
I felt the steady trot of a horse, for I could feel it under me, its steps beating at the ground.
It was cold, so very cold and I knew that I was still in what I had woken up in, however long ago that was.
The air around me smelled cold and foul.
Darkness still enveloped me. Eyes so heavy...
Any last remains of light I felt vanished.
Whoever was there unseated himself and I faintly heard the sound of the horse being led away.
Much effort was needed in order to breathe now, I felt like I was suffocating.
Where was I?
More words were exchanged, spoken roughly, as a command.
I shivered. It was so cold.
Whoever was carrying me changed the position he held me in.
That was when I felt the thick, bumpy, oily skin.
I was in the hands of an orc.
There was more talking and then I distinguished the heavy grunts and other inhumanly sounds as orc.
I wasn't in the hands of only one orc. I was in the possession of several orcs.
The sudden fear that enveloped me sent me back into the deeper, darker depths of unconsciousness.
0x01 graphic
~Dwelling On Imprisonment~
When I awoke again, it was not because of any horrid noise or merciless pounding on my door.
All I heard was the sound of a bird twittering away with a morning song outside my window.
My window?
I opened my eyes and sat up.
Then I was overcome with exhaustion.
I fell back down onto the bed.
The bed?
I glanced around and saw that I was in a rather small room.
The two windows facing each other had no covering.
It looked like as if I was in a tower room of some sort.
The walls were made of large, dark gray stone and the room was kind of cold.
I felt the cool, fresh air flow in through the windows and then the sound of bird's wings fluttering through the sky.
My bed was clean and white, not raised far off the ground. Only a thin blanket covered me, but it was not overly chilly.
There was a wooden desk on the other wall and a small jar of ink was laid beside some papers.
I rested for a second and then conjured enough strength to sit up, stand up, and walk over to the windows.
I sat down beneath one and looked out, breathing heavily.
I gasped at the horror that I saw.
All I saw was flatland, but no grass or trees. It was all dirt.
Looking down, I saw that I was extremely high up, elevated as if I was a prisoner or this was a watchtower.
Obviously this was not a watchtower anymore. I was a prisoner in a creepy old castle of some sort.
Reaching out, I felt the smooth sides of stone and eliminated any chance of climbing down.
I would not possibly have the energy anyway.
Not far away from the tower was what looked like a very large crack on the ground.
From my point all I saw was this ugly black cracked gap in my path.
I slowly inched over to the other window and saw that the crack continued all the way there.
The only thing that connected the two sides was one wooden bridge that looked old, worn, and very dangerous.
From here I saw a few heaps of rocks piled on top of each other.
One that caught my attention was the highest one, not far from the side of the black crack.
The stone on top was what looked like a flat surface, flat and smooth and rather long.
I wondered what it was used for.
I moved to the table not farther away and crawled up onto the chair.
There was a piece of paper there that looked ancient and it was dusty.
The ink in the ink jar was also dried, the feather pen dried to it.
I frowned and thought for a moment.
What day was it? When was the last time I was in Rivendell?
I had not recognized my surroundings.
A few minutes later I was back in bed.
When I fell back onto bed a sharp jolt of pain went through my shoulder.
Jesine.
What did she have to do with this? There must be something.
I then heard voices outside my door. Orc voices.
Seconds later the door opened and two of the most hideous things stepped into the room.
I nearly blanched.
They were big, ugly, and utterly repulsive.
And they also brought in the worst stench I ever smelled.
I wanted to be sick.
Then they turned their red and murky brown eyes to me.
As they walked toward me, the stench nearly overpowered me.
And the closer they got the more ugly they got.
What the bloody hell did they want?
0x01 graphic
~Disgusting Servants~
They came to stand near the side of the bed and I was suffocating.
The line "You are what you eat" came to haunt me.
I hope these things did not eat rotting corpses and animal waste because that's what they smelled like and what they looked like.
One of them had a greenish purplish color of skin that was covered with brown and black warts. There were many large slashes, sewn together rather awkwardly. The stitches did not hold the flesh closed nor was it even.
His eyes were a shade of red and swampy green, an interesting color combination but creepy either way. Both eyes were swollen and looked like as if they were going to jump out at me.
The oily black hair matted against his forehead dripped something. What, I didn't want to know.
I did not want him to open his mouth. The horror that awaited me there would be unbearable. I just knew it.
His friend was not much better, if not much worse.
Most of the disgusting odor originated from him.
His skin was not as colorful as his friends, but it was a muddy color with even darker brown warts and craters.
I shuddered.
There was a deep slash at what looked like where his stomach should be. The dreadfulness I saw there nearly did make me hurl.
His intestines were falling out and were haphazardly stuffed in and sewed up.
I lifted a hand to cover my nose and mouth.
My face started hurting and I noticed that I was frowning rather hard.
The taller ugly thing opened his mouth and I winced inwardly.
I was right. His teeth were not yellow and green as I suspected, but they were brown and black with what looked like worms invading them.
Oh the horror, all right.
I lifted a hand and waved it around in a sign of "no". He closed his mouth again.
Before I could regain my composure, he opened his mouth again and spoke.
Surprisingly, he did not sound all that inhumane, considering he was an elf once before.
His voice was gruff, rather nasally, and it sounded as if his throat was bubbling.
I concluded that it was when a many-legged insect dropped out of it.
I nearly screamed, but I knew if I opened my mouth and inhaled, I would fall over and die because of the nearly poisonous, odorous fumes that come from them.
"Lilana of Rivendell, we have been given to see to your comfort what you remain here," he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
Oh the repulsion was bad enough, but the thought that they would `see to my comfort' did me in.
"What?" I choked out.
A second of silence passed, "Forgive us of our statehood, but Lady Jesine ordered us not to harm you. You are a pawn in this battle and you are not to be harmed...yet," he added.
So I was right, Jesine did sell me off to the enemy.
"If you do not need anything, we will leave now. Do not try anything for you cannot die else all will be lost. You will not go anywhere. We will hear. If you need anything, we are just outside the door."
With that, they stumbled out of the door and I ran to the windows in attempt to get breathable air.
Now what?
0x01 graphic
~Discovery and Hospitality~
The next few days passed by rather slowly.
There was nothing to do and no one to talk to and I would climb up Mordor first before I would openly chat with the two orcs. I shuddered at the thought.
During one of my exploring spouts in the room, I had discovered a hidden panel in the wall.
Actually, I did not discover it, but rather had scratched myself on an uneven block of stone.
When I pulled it out I found three amazing weapon pieces and other smaller items.
One weapon was a long sword, beautiful in artwork and extremely light. Its handle was made of what looked like ivory and gold, its blade was double sided with intricate carvings and pictures of war.
Another item I discovered was a smaller blade, knifelike in size, its handle identical to that of the sword, but its blade was extremely thin and slick, the tip sharper than the king's own knifepoint.
The third were a pair of wrist guards with long, silver sharp spikes along the side. They were heavy, but when I clamped them on, they fit perfectly.
Other things I found inside the chest was a belt that held both the knife and sword, a map piece of what looked like the land north of Middle-Earth, and a leather pouch that contained numerous jewels and gems along with gold and silver chunks.
I had stuffed everything back inside and replaced the wall, returning to the desk and sitting down, thinking.
That day I had received a bath. The large orc whose name was Maibuik carried in a porcelain tub along with two buckets of steaming, clean water. Smelly orc, whose name I later on discovered was Gougar, carried in another two along with rather old, but clean towels and soap. I didn't think it was scented and it turned out it was not.
Oh, but the heavenly thought that the water and towels were clean, the water warm, and the soap usable.
I spent the next hour in luxury.
I had just donned my old clothes when the door burst open and both orcs came back in. Gougar, along with another just equally horrifying orc came in and carried the empty buckets, wet towels, soap and water filled tub away.
Then Maibuik walked in carrying a dress identical to the one I wore, except it was white, and a letter.
He dropped both down on the bed and then left, slamming the door as he exited.
After I had changed, I folded my old dress and placed it onto the chair and then turned to open the letter.
It was from Jesine and it read:
Lilana: I trust you are enjoying the hospitality amongst the lovely orcs. They are by far more friendlier than elves, don't you think so? Get used to it. You'll be spending a long time here.
She signed it with a great flourish. At first I had the most powerful inclination to rip it up, but then decided not to and left it on the desk. Maybe someone will find it someday and know what had happened to me.
I cared naught. I had lost. I wanted to cry.
After that day I had not received any more comforts, not even knowing where they came from. Each day the meals that were prepared were not as disgusting as the deliverers, but it was edible.
The first mean I had absolutely refused to eat what looked like a mixture of dirt and muddy water.
When the disgusting duo returned to clean it up, all they did was exchange grunts and then left.
The next day the meals were more decent: hard bread, water, and an aged piece of fruit.
By that time I was hungry enough to want to eat anything, so I finished the bread and water. The fruit I decided should not be contaminated and if it was, I'd die and leave this torture and imprisonment. The latter did not happen, unfortunately.
The meals continued to be decent and then something that I did not expect to happen did.
This surprised me as much as it would surprise anyone that had lost hope when their beloved horse dying and they had been caged for approximately five days already.
0x01 graphic
~A Surprising Surprise~
It was in the middle of the night when a light awakened me. At first I only opened my eyes and peeked, and then I stared.
Legolas Greenleaf.
Oh, he was a fine sight, all dressed up in one of those earth tone outfits everyone had.
Isn't that similar to the one he wore during the Fellowship thingy?
His candle burned brightly and his elvish aura of light didn't shine all that brightly. I never knew how that worked.
Ready for action, I suppose, he had his quiver full of arrows, his elf-knives, and, of course, his bow. Damn it all, did he look fine.
I sat up and saw that he was reading the letter from Jesine that I had placed on the desk.
When he heard me rustle the thin sheets, he turned around rather quickly, startled.
Tilting my head to the side, my body language basically gave him a question.
He glanced at the door and I knew he had somehow gotten past the guards, but they were still outside.
Raising an eyebrow in question, I quietly stood up and walked over to the desk, sitting down.
I took out a new, but dusty sheet of paper and added a few drops of my drinking water into the dried ink jar.
After stirring with the feather pen, I wrote down, "What are you doing here?"
Setting the candle onto the table, he took the quill from me and replied, "To rescue you."
My head snapped back and I turned to stare at him incredulously.
Shrugging, he walked over to the bed and silently sat down.
A voice came through the door, "Lady Lilana, why are you still awake?"
Startled, I thought frantically and before I could respond the door opened.
I stared at Maibuik with utmost anger and irritation.
"Get out!" I called, "And give me some privacy!"
He frowned, seemingly undecided.
Picking up a slipper, I threw it at him and he caught it without effort.
"Damn it, get out! Go get me something to eat and knock before you enter, cursed orc you!"
Sending a hideous grin my way, he nodded and turned, closing the door quietly behind him.
I spun around and glanced around, frenzied.
There was no sign of the prince.
"Legolas?" I whispered.
Movement caught my eye and I turned to the window. He quietly slipped back in and I visibly relaxed.
"Smart," I said sarcastically and then frowned as his gaze flew to the door. "Maibuik, the ugly one that came in, well, they're all ugly, but he went to fetch some food. Gougar, the even uglier one, went down to sleep. They change night guarding shifts everyday. Don't worry, Maibuik is slow."
He walked, well actually glided, over to me and took a hard grip on my elbow.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, "Do you know the danger you're in?"
I shrugged my arm away from him and went to sit on the bed.
"Actually, I did until I did not think I'd be found. What took you so long anyway?"
He glared at me, "This place is guarded with orcs from every direction and we didn't know you were gone until four nights ago!"
Again I shrugged. "As much as I'd like to leave this place, how will we get out? And the danger, well, the orcs aren't as stupid as I imagined, but they're ugly, smelly, but still have some sense of humanity, or kind of."
"You've gone insane," he stated plainly.
"Yes, I suppose I have," I agreed and then he jumped onto the windowsill again.
A knock came at the door.
When I went to answer it, I thought of an excuse for Maibuik. I opened the door and a plate of bread and water was shoved into my arms.
I looked up at him, "Do you have anything less hard and with a bit more taste?"
It glared at me, "Well, come on, do you?"
"Please?" I added, softening my tone, "I'm not doing well constantly on hard bread, water, and dried fruit."
Although his frown intensified, he took the plate from me and turned, walking away. I closed the door and turned back to the room.
Again, Legolas was nowhere to be seen.
"Legolas?" I asked again and when I had no answer, I repeated his name.
Then I walked over to the window and glanced around. He was not there.
Looking out, I also saw nothing but darkness.
I called his name again, albeit a bit louder and silence was my only response.