THIS IS A REVISED CHAPTER. OUT OF RESPECT FOR ANOTHER FFNET WRITER 'AIREROSWEN', I'M CHANGING ONE WHOLE PARAGRAPH FROM THIS CHAPTER. SHE CLAIMED THAT THE WORDS CAME FROM HER STORY 'BOUND AND TORN, CHP 5'. I'VE CHECKED AND INCREDIBLY, I FOUND IT NEARLY PRECISE!
The first crack of the whip caused the bound elf prince to strain forward against the chain. No sound came from his throat as the healing skin upon his back was slashed open brutally once more; all the while his stoic gaze never wavered from Arulin's pompous stance.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE ALL OF YOU THAT IT WAS NEVER MY INTENTION TO COPY HER, BUT THE WORDS JUST CAME OUT OF MY MIND. I'VE READ HER STORY A COUPLE MONTHS AGO AND IT GOT STUCK AT THE BACK OF MY HEAD SOMEWHAT. HENCE, THE WORDS FLOWED OUT SUBCONSCIOUSLY. THAT'S THE RISK OF SPONTANEOUS WRITING; YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR OWN IMAGINATION, OR A MEMORY.
TO AIREROSWEN, I'M VERY SORRY FOR ALL THE INCONVENIENCE. I DIDN'T MEAN ANY DISRESPECT, BUT IT IS A TOTAL ERROR OF MY PART FOR NOT CHECKING MY WORK PROPERLY. AND TO THOSE OF YOU WHO FEEL CHEATED, PLEASE DON'T BE. KEEP ON READING MY WORKS AND YOU'LL SEE HOW GENUINE AND ORIGINAL THEY WERE (WELL, IT'S TOLKIEN'S IN THE FIRST PLACE! WHO CAN DOUBT THAT!!)
Disclaimer : The word is 'disclaimer'. Need I say more?
Thanks for those who keep motivate me with your nice reviews! You're such angels!
A little warning though; this chapter might be too much for some of you! There's a scene of mild elf torture an…ehem! …indecency. (Need I lifted the rate to R or something?) Anyway, I wrote this chapter while I was very very angry with someone! I have this crazy need to hurt that someone very much!
Smack!! That's the sound of me hitting a person nearby which happens to be my own brother. Nope. Still not enough. (My brother was glaring at me, Ow! Why did u hit me for?) Oh shut up and go away!
Now, before they arrested me for murdering an innocent bystander, I better vent my anger towards someone else that would not hurt or hate me in return. (You think so? Legolas asked) Shut up Leggy and let me torture you instead! (Okay, fine. I'm all yours.)
If you don't like torture flicks, skip this one and pray that Legolas will survive this. If you still want to read, remember, you've been warned!
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Legolas was never known to be meek though. In a sudden move, he lashed out and hit an orc nearest to him with a mighty kick. The orc was just finishing relocking the cell. The kick threw the orc backwards and it landed onto its back in a sickening thud, the keys in his hand flew off somewhere into the dark corner. The elf prince lashed out again, bringing down several orcs that were holding him.
"Restrain him, you fools!" Arulin fumed. The other orcs rushed at Legolas simultaneously. Grabbing him, they all tussled about. In less than a minute, Legolas found himself on his back on the ground, panting and cringing with pain. His arms were pinned down and two orcs were sitting on his legs.
Arulin glared down at him. "Giving us a tough time, aren't you?" She crouched down and tangled her fingers in Legolas's hair, jerking his face to her. "I'll teach you a lesson, little prince." She straightened and cried out, "Chain him up!"
They bound his wrists together with a long chain. Then the chain was pulled over a beam up ahead. Legolas was left dangling with his arms tied up above him; his toes barely touched the floor. The strain was too much, nearly popping his shoulders out of its joints, but he refused to make any sound of distress. He saw his father and brother watching him in terrified silent, holding on to each other in dismay. They had already guessed what Arulin planned to do to Legolas.
She stepped closer to him, bringing her lips to his. When Legolas twisted his head away, she grabbed the back of his head and held him still. The kiss was brutal and painful as Arulin crushed the lips beneath her with a force born out of wanton need and desire. Legolas struggled in pure detest, biting her lips in retaliation. She cried out and backhanded him in the face. "It's time for your lesson, prince Legolas. I can't forget how humiliated I was when I fell off that damn horse. Now it's your turn."
Legolas watched anxiously as an orc came with a long whip. Arulin smiled wickedly. "Recognize it? I am not satisfied with what you received this afternoon. Instead of fifty, it should have been five hundred!"
Legolas sucked his bleeding lips nervously when Arulin walk behind him, still speaking. "Instead of only your back, I want the whip to taste all over you. I want to make you weep, Legolas. The way they make my mother wept when they killed her, burning her at the stake! I saw it all through my young eyes! And I never forget!"
"He doesn't have anything to do with your mother's death, Arulin!" Thranduil cried out in anger.
"My mother didn't have anything to do with my father's involvement in the Great War either but they killed her anyway! Was that fair?" She shouted back.
"Your mother was a witch!"
"Oh, and for that she must die terribly with her daughter watching?" She inhaled deeply before shaking her head. "No! Enough talking!" With the dagger in her hand, Arulin started to tear away the clothes off Legolas's body. Legolas kept his silence through the entire treatment, locking his eyes with Thranduil's and Keldarion's. Don't worry. I can stand it, his eyes seemed to say.
When his whole body hung fully exposed to Arulin's and the orcs' hungry gaze, Legolas lifted his head in pure dignity and stared into Arulin's eyes steadily. "You can do all you want, but you will never break me." Arulin gritted her teeth, her eyes simmering in fury and malice. "We'll see about that, prince." She gave a signal for her servant to begin the whipping.
The first crack of the whip stabbed Legolas to the deepest core of his being. Immediately, the hellish memory of the whipping in the courtyard that day overwhelmed him in painful waves, rendering him mute. He was entirely helpless as the healing skin upon his back was slashed open brutally once more.
"Stop it! Arulin, don't do this to him! Stop it now!" Keldarion was yelling in frustration and fury. Holding one hand over his wounded shoulder, he grabbed the cell bar in death grip with the other. "Take me instead! Valar! Stop!"
Arulin however ignored him, staring at Legolas's glowing and tormented naked body in twisted hunger.
More lashes, one after the other. Legolas soon lost count. The whip not only landed on his back now but all over his body, from his head to his legs. The chain restraining his arms kept him upright as the whip descended on his flesh again and again. Not once did he cry out, he would not give her the satisfaction. But with each painful lash of the black leather penetrating his skin and muscle, he felt himself weakening.
When he found that he could stand it no longer, the whipping stopped. And he hung there like a lifeless doll, breathing heavily in semi-state of consciousness. His ears were ringing and there was a loud humming noise in his head. He felt the blood dripping off him to the floor. As if from afar, he could hear his brother's angry shouts and his father's desperate cries. Then his world faded to black.
Arulin raked her gaze all over Legolas's body, licking her lips in anticipation. She lifted his chin and stared at the pale face. "Still beautiful as ever," she muttered, and kissed his bruised unresponsive lips.
"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!!!" Keldarion screamed in pure outrage, tears running freely down his face. Arulin turned and strode haughtily towards the cell. "Really? I'm not surprise. You can try, Keldarion. I'll be waiting." She turned to walk away.
"Wait! You can't just leave him like that!" Thranduil cried out. Arulin raised her eyebrows. "Why not? I'm not finished with him. Enjoy the view." With that, she strode out of the room, the orcs following in her wake.
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Several hundred leagues from Mirkwood, a lone rider were seen hurrying towards the woods of Lothlorien. His gray cloak flapped in the wind, his pointed hat miraculously still perched atop his head. "Faster, my friend!" he urged his mount. The stallion heard the urgent note in his rider's voice. It spurred faster than ever.
Following them from above was a beautiful bald eagle, soaring magnificently under the clouds.
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Another troop of elves was approaching the edge of the woods of Mirkwood. It was not too big in number, only about ten to fifteen of an elf lord, his two twin sons, and their fellow escorts.
"To think that Keldarion will finally tie the knot! It's so unbelievable!" Elladan shook his head in wonder, his face lined with amusement.
"Hey, you still owe me that jeweled dagger!" Elrohir demanded, reminding his twin of their silly bet.
Elladan reluctantly tossed the said the dagger to his brother, grimacing in disgust. "I thought he would wait until he reach 4,000!"
"With that pretty face of his? Not a chance!" Elrohir inspected the dagger in triumph. "Want to bet when Legolas's turn will be?"
"Oh, for crying out loud! Will you both cease? This whole betting thing is driving me dizzy!" Elrond snapped. His two sons were famous for their betting antics. Valar! They even bet on the weather!
The two brothers looked back at him for a moment, before Elrohir gave back the dagger to his brother. "I've told you he would lost his patience," Elladan remarked, tucking the dagger back to his waist.
Elrond could only rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Why me?"
They were supposed to head for Mirkwood in another two days. But his sons would not let Keldarion spent the rest of his bachelor days without them. They intended to create havoc as they usually did when the two Mirkwood princes and the Rivendell twins met.
Never did they expect that that their early arrival would be the vital chance of survival for the doomed woodland kingdom.
TBC…