Chapter 21: Alienation

Tulrah watched his sister with interest shining in his gaze. The weak and constantly whining girl had been replaced by something much stronger, worthy of being regarded with respected and treated as an equal. He cocked his head and squinted his eyes together in concentration. He finally decided that he had to take a closer look. Tulrah rose from his seat and the chair fell to the floor with a loud clattering noise.

"You've just managed to terrify an army of scoundrels, murderers and monsters. That's quite an achievement if you ask me." he stated matter-of- factly, stepping next to her. "My only intention was to protect my mate." she said and her voice sounded like it belonged to a stranger, distant and cold. He raised his eyebrow and stared at her with a curious expression on his face. "Is that so? What if I told you that he isn't save yet. What if you had to kill an innocent in order to protect your precious little elf's life..." Her eyes sparkled as feral as those of a beast. "Nobody is innocent. Sometimes lives have to be extinguished to preserve others." Tulrah grinned contently at her answer. That didn't sound at all like the person he knew, more like an improved version of her, at least according to him, but before he would trust in this wondrous new change, she would have to prove herself to him.

He raised his voice and called. "Bring me one of our slaves!" On his command a dirty looking man, clothed in rags that hung loosely from his skinny body was dragged into the arena. His body was covered with a mixture of scars and newly inflicted wounds. Tulrah waved over two particularly nasty looking Orcs, motioning them and Selina to follow him. He strolled down to the arena, opened the gate and stepped in.

"Seize them and make sure they don't move!" Tulrah ordered his hideous soldiers. The creatures did as their master bid them and held Legolas and the slave in their tight grip. Tulrah produced as small dagger and held it out to Selina who took it without hesitation.

Legolas gasped in surprise, unable to believe his eyes. Was she really going to kill this man in order to save his life? "Melamin, what are you doing?" he cried out in horror. "I am doing what is necessary." she replied and looked at him in astonishment. Selina couldn't understand why he opposed to what she intended to do, she was after all just acting out nature's will. The weak and small had to perish in order to ensure the survival of the stronger ones.

Legolas's eyes widened in horror when her arm raised and the deadly blade of the dagger shot down, aiming directly at the man's heart, but before it could reach its destination, it was stopped only mere inches from it. The slave let out a relieved sigh and sweat ran down his fore head.

Selina looked at the huge hand that had tightened around her wrist, her face completely blank. "How sweet of you, sister! I'm sure pretty boy will love you even more for that." Tulrah said, his voice full of sarcasm. He took the weapon out of her hand and loosened his grip on her arm. "As much as I esteem the finer points of cold blooded murder, this little worm is actually quite useful and torturing him daily has become a little guilty pleasure of mine. So I hope you will excuse my intervention."

Legolas still starred Selina in horror. What had happened to her? He had come know her as a person full of life and passion. Whenever she was angry the air around her crackled, when she was sad the sun seemed to shine less bright than usual and when she was happy her smile light up the room. This person in front of him had nothing in common with the woman he loved, except her outward appearance. He saw something sparkle in her eyes that terrified him to the bone. Their golden depths bore no more human emotions, only the untamed fire of the most basic instincts every being possessed.

"What did you do to her?" he asked Tulrah with cold anger in his voice. "Apart from torturing her? Well, nothing. This wonderful change came up on its own, when she tried to save you. " Tulrah answered him with a vicious smirk on his face. "Maybe this is who she really is and the person you have loved was nothing but a mask she wore to deceive you. But what do I know." He did not only enjoy using physical cruelty, but mental torture was also something he esteemed greatly, as its effects were far more devastating. If he was lucky the elf, would be consumed by the guilt of being responsible for his lover's downfall and die of a broken heart.

Legolas frowned his forehead. She had used her powers in order to rescue him from being slaughtered by those wild beasts. He remembered their conversation at the campfire a few days ago and couldn't help but feel guilty. He was the responsible for her using her powers in the first place and the fact that she was now controlled entirely by them. Maybe he could help her remember who she was, awake the old Selina again. He would not give up on her, because if he did, everything would be lost. He would fight for her - for them - as long as he could.

"Are you thinking about my words, elf?" Tulrah asked, having noticed the contemplative look on the Legolas's face. "On the upside she has at least managed to keep my interest in both of you, so I will let you live for a little longer. Who knows maybe she will prove herself to be useful." The warlord shrugged his shoulders casually. "If not I will have something to entertain myself with, watching the two of you picking up the scattered pieces of your relationship without any success." He turned his back on them and began to stroll away, calling over his shoulder "Lock the two of them up together and send the slave back to work!"

~

Legolas sat there in the dark, starring into the grey twilight that surrounded him. A few meters from him Selina was sitting completely motionless. She had been this way since they had been shoved into a wagon that was constructed as a cell on wheels. There was a tiny window, that allowed the prisoners to look out, but the opening was so small that it was barely able to let in fresh air. The rest of their prison was made of solid wood and there was no possibility to escape, as Legolas noted dejectedly. The wagon was dark, warm and sticky. In short - everything the elf hated.

"Selina." he called out softly. She didn't react, still sitting there unmovingly. "Selina!" The Selvadage'tok woman showed neither any sign that she understood nor any reaction at all. He crawled over to her and softly touched her on the shoulder. When her emotionless eyes met his in the darkness, a shiver ran down his spine.

"Are you well? Do any of your wounds require attention?" he asked trying to get any response from her.

"No need to worry. This body is strong and healthy." came her answer.

"You speak as if this body wasn't your own." he stated, trying to get more information out of her.

"It has always been mine, but now I am the one in control and maybe it is for the better." Selina's cold voice answered.

"What's your name?" "What do names matter to you, Eldar? Names are just words, made up by those, weak in mind, to label the things around them. They are making up definitions without understanding the concept of the things that surround them. As a consequence their name creations are as unfit for the objects they describe as their intellect is to grasp the reality of this world in which they live."

At those words a shiver ran through Legoals's body "What did you do to Selina?"

"Nothing. She is still in here, but now her voice is only as weak as the whisper of the wind. It only raised one time with all its might, when it screamed at me to save you. It was a scream that came out of the inner depths of her soul and every viper in her being begged me to do it. I am not a cruel master, so I granted her this wish."

"You are nature."

The being that had occupied Selina's body let out an amused laugh. "No, but I'm one of its most powerful spirits. I'm wondering how come you didn't recognise me, Legolas Greenleaf, after all you literally starred me in the face for years and years, watching the forest grow or enjoying the cool night air."

"Why are you still controlling her body?"

"Because it seems that you can't handle this situation alone. Your judgement and your actions are misguided. You have forgotten the most basic objective of all."

"And that would be?"

"You have forgotten how to survive and you will not be able to, if you, who are weak, oppose those much stronger than you. You will perish if you don't unite with Tulrah!"

"But he is evil!"

"We cannot afford to waste our time on sentimentalities. I does not matter if he is good or evil. What matters is the outcome, not the means with which we achieve our goal. If you will join him, many lives will be saved in the long run."

"I am truly astonished how you could forget that your future ally has left a trail of destruction behind himself on his way towards Gondor. What do you think he will do when he gets his hands on the eye staff?"

Selina squinted her eyes together. "I will wait and observe. Only time will tell." She said finally.

~

Gimli sighed and closed his tired eyes for a second. In the last hours he had been forced to witness helplessly as his friends had been captured, tortured and almost killed. His fiery temper had flared repeatedly and he had often been just seconds away from running down the hill with his axe, ready to strike down a whole army in order to save his friends. But the damned panther had always blocked his way and kept him from doing anything foolish, baring its sharp fangs threateningly and hissing dangerously. The dwarf had cursed angrily at the beast, but Sulrathi appeared totally unimpressed by his wrath.

After several minutes and many vain attempts to outsmart the panther, he had finally calmed down considerably and come to his senses. If he ran down the hill and was killed or captured in the process, he wouldn't be of any use, he realised. His axe was thirsty for blood, but the panther wouldn't let him have his way. So he had to do as he was told and try to find Aragorn. With an army at his back he would be able to give into his unspeakable rage, without fearing the consequences. Then he would show those scoundrels why it wasn't wise to threaten the friends of a dwarf. He grimly nodded to Sulrathi and hurried to find Aragorn and Gandalf, running towards the direction of Gondor with the black beast right on toe.