Chapter 20 : Overwhelmed

When she slowly regained consciousness, all her numerous little cuts and wounds came to live with burning pain, screaming loudly to her that she wasn't dead yet. Selina was tied to an armchair unable to move her hands or feet, in fact the exact same one that was standing in the middle of Tulrah's tent. She remembered last night and brief shreds of memories flashed before her mind's eye. Her brother..his sharp claws cutting her flesh..her voice screaming until she was hoarse. She shook her head to chase those dark thoughts away, but then this dreadful voice reached her ears again. The same voice that had mocked her all night long, when she hadn't been able to take the pain anymore and begged for mercy.

"I see you are up. And not a second too late. I have something to show you." Tulrah said to her with anticipation ringing in his voice. She quickly figured out that if he was delighted that was a bad sign. She felt the foreboding of something terrible creep up inside of her. Suddenly she remembered Legolas. What had happened to him? Was he still alive? Selina was seized by a sudden panic. Her breath exhilarated, her eyes darted around and fear nagged at her like a dog on a tasty bone.

"You are probably asking yourself right now what happened to this little friend of yours. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but he plays a great role in the little show I have prepared especially for you."

She spit at him, all her bottled up anger unleashed by his words. Tulrah laughed and wiped his face with his hand, savouring his next words.

"You know that I could smell you all over each other. How stupid of you to drag him into this. Utterly thoughtless really! Who knows in the end something bad might happen to him and that would really be a shame." Her brother whispered in her ear teasingly.

"You should have known that revenge is something that never works out nicely. It is neither suitable nor appropriate for you. It only corrupts you, eats you up from the inside and sinks its little hateful fangs deep into your heart to suck it dry to the last drop until there is nothing left of it, but a black hard rock. From that moment on you are free. No more limits, no more rules, only your own free will. And you, Selina, are not ready for this great feeling, you will never be."

"So you decided after torturing me all night long, to talk me to death, didn't you?" she smiled at him humourlessly.

He raised his eyebrows, his eyes sparkling at her dangerously. "Still as impatient and short-tempered as ever...Well, then let the show begin!" With a quick movement of his hand his claws cut through her ties and he dragged her out of the tent, holding her arm in an iron grip.

She blinked rapidly when they stepped out of the dark, warm tent and the bright rays of sun hit her eyes. It took her a while to get used to the broad day light, but slowly her gaze focused and her surroundings became clearer.

A makeshift arena had been hastily created. Thick barricades of wood surrounded a circle of a fifteen meter radius, with two steady looking gates opposite of each other. A huge crowd, consisting of Orcs, Uruk-hai and men, had gathered to witness the spectacle and was cheering and shouting in anticipation. She shivered at the sound of their voices, full of malice and cruelty. "Bring forth the prisoner!" Tulrah cried out and at once the noise ceased, and made room to a tense silence, filled with curiosity. Selina could make out a glimpse of blond hair in the crowd, coming closer at them. Ice cold shock washed through her whole body. She tried desperately to free herself from her brother's grip, but to no avail. "No! No! Let him go!" she screamed despite of the pain every single syllable uttered from her sore throat caused her. Tulrah just laughed at her in amusement and shook his head.

After a dreadful eternity Legolas was shoved into the circle by two Orcs who threw him one last hideous smile before they closed the wooden gate with a forceful and final bang behind themselves. The elf slowly rose to his feet and she could see that he had blood on his clothes and several cuts and bruises on his face. Despite the circumstances his stance was still proud and regal as ever. Their eyes met, communicating with each other without the need for words.

"I hate to break the moment, but I think the audience wants to see a little blood spilling." Tulrah's words cut loudly through the air, followed by the cheers of the crowd.

"What are you going to do to him, you monster?" Selina spat at him through clenched teeth, hatred sparkling brightly in her golden eyes.

Instead of responding the warlord clapped his hands and two chairs were brought for them to sit down. He sprawled leisurely on one of them and motioned her to take a seat as well. She looked at him, her forehead in a frown, her small frame radiating with anger. "Oh, yes! Your question.....Well, I said it's a surprise, don't be so impatient." He let out a loud whistle and called "Bring in my two beauties!"

At his command two huge cages covered with black fabric were dragged in. The creatures inside of them emitted deep, guttural sounds and the loud trampling of hoofs could be heard. Selina stood there frozen in shock. She was forced to witness the happenings without being able to intervene or prevent any of them. Tears glistened in her eyes that were unable to look away.

The doors of the cages were placed right in front of the gates that had been constructed exactly for this purpose, the two openings matching perfectly. The whole process was accompanied by the angry screams of the locked up creatures. The black drapes were removed on Tulrah's command and revealed two huge wild boars, pawing with their hoofs impatiently. Selina let out a terrified gasp at the side of those two dangerous beasts. Even the Orcs who had dragged the cages took a step back with fear written on their features.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" Tulrah asked with a satisfied smirk on his face. "I don't know much about elves, but from what I heard they are rather fond of nature. Well, wouldn't it be ironic if your lover would be destroyed by what he has appreciated for all his life - nature." His cold eyes looked at her, enjoying the despair written on her face. A delightful shiver spread through his body and he savoured the feeling completely.

"Any last words, elf?" he asked flatly, his arm raised to give the command to free the beasts. Legolas raised his chin and met Tulrah's piercing gaze proudly. Then his eyes softened when he turned to Selina. "Nothing will ever separate us. I will search for you and find you in the next life." Tulrah let out a hideous laugh and lowered his hand, that fell with the finality of the axe of an executioner.

Suddenly time seemed to stand still. Every single movement stretched out for an eternity: the warlord's minions who were about to free the beasts from their cages and the cheering crowd that was silenced and frozen in a grimace of euphoria. In this fragment of a second, when everything seemed to come to a standstill, Selina summoned all her powers. She felt them rise inside of her, increasing with every second, unstoppable, wild and incredible angry.

The doors of the cages were opened and the beasts slowly stepped out of them, entering the arena hesitantly. The eyes of the audience were fixed curiously on the elf standing defencelessly, without any weapons, in the middle of the arena, facing his destiny with a brave expression on his fair face. The air was heavy with the anticipation of the massacre which was about to ensue.

Suddenly a blood chilling scream filled the arena. So shrill and inhumane that it immediately captured the crowd's attention. Beside Tulrah stood Selina, surrounded by an aura of power, beautiful and yet terrifying. Her voice murmured chants in an ancient language nobody had ever heard, her eyes completely black and bolts of energy shooting out of her finger tips.

The two boars stood there looking nervously from side to side, sensing the presence of a dangerous predator, more powerful and deadly than them. Their eyes finally fixed on the young Selvadage'tok woman, recognizing her as the source of danger, squealing in horror.

"Obey my will and hear nature's orders." she chanted in a deep voice that overpowered the beasts' weak minds in the blink of an eye. Selina took complete control of them, forcefully breaking any resistance she encountered in the process.

The audience watched in cruel fascination and cheered in excitement, when the two boars turned against each other. The lowered their heads and pawed with their hoofs angrily, the tension increasing between them with every second that passed. Then the fight started and the two opponents crashed into each other with an angry grunt.

Selina watched the scene in front of her with an emotionless face, everything seemed so insignificant and small in comparison with the powers that raged inside her. After a few minutes, one of the boars collapsed on the ground with a last, shrill squeal, his huge body covered with uncountable wounds. Its muscles clenched and unclenched as it fought against death that spread in its veins. Slowly a red puddle formed under the fallen beast. Selina watched unflinchingly as the creature exhaled its last shuddering breath and then directed her attention towards the remaining boar. It was in no condition to fight and posed no more threat, as it dragged its bleeding body back to the shelter of its cage.

Selina felt no relief, no fear, no despair - nothing. It was as if her personality, her spirit, had stepped aside and had made room to nature's power that now filled her entire body without leaving any of it to her. All the categories of right or wrong together with everything that had made out her personality, had faded and been replaced by two new priorities: survival at all costs and the will to protect those close to you. The moment that she had feared most had arrived, but now it didn't inspire any feeling in her at all. Power had overwhelmed her and destroyed her will.