Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or any recognizable
characters and/or places.
Len: I shall try to update as much as I can. Thanks! Interesting is good, right?
Passion Lover: Being corrected is no problem with me, it's people like Meryl who light right into me without thinking that perhaps there was a reason I said whatever it is I said. Anyway, thanks!
Crystal: Yes, you are right! Thanks. (
Paper Crane: First off, awesome name (I recently made one thousand origami cranes). Thanks, Mary-Sue seems to be way overused--it is good to know that not everyone thinks an original character is a Mary-Sue! Ah, yes, the titles of the chapters are lyrics to The Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The-ringspell: No! Please don't kill me! It wasn't my fault! I had to my vocab, and then. . .and I. . .but I got this chapter up eventually! Please don't kill me! (just kidding, of course. But I would appreciate it if you did not kill me.)
Nostamoon: Thanks, and the worse the cliffhanger, the better the surprise, usually!
TrekandJedimaster: Don't worry, I'm more or less here for the next three months! So I can post as many "ruddy cliffhangers" as needed. . .mwu haha. . .
Jheskia: Legolas will probably come in in the chapter after this one, maybe the one after that. But I promise plenty of Mirkwood-Elf in this story! Lol
Aga_xris: Rivendell was not attacked, but Mirnim's hometown was. Mirnim and the boy are both around the same age, but both young teens. Or the Elven equivalent of that. Why, thank you.
Okay, hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Good readers review ;)
*****
Mirnim's feet pounded on the caked dirt. Her face and head burned, shooting painful streaks of light through her mind. Her lungs burned and screamed for air, which came with such great pain through her parched, closed throat. The aches throughout her body were intense, and the mental anguish that threatened even more so, but she would not--could not--stop running.
Mirnim tried not to think about what had happened since the night before. Had it only been the night before? It must have been. One night since she had been found by the other Elf. That night they had not killed her, but she had been afraid that they would. There were perhaps ten of them in total; he one who had found Mirnim brought her before the others. They had said many things to her, cruel, unthinkable things, but she had been spared hearing their words. The image of her dead brother, bodies strewn about, haunted her still.
Finally it had been decided that she would not be killed. Instead, Mirnim's hands and legs were bound, and she was locked for the night in a cold cellar. She had known that day had come only because of the light coming in through the cracked cellar door. The bindings on her ankles and wrists had not been cut, but bit into her flesh.
The visitor had come just after nightfall. It was the same male that had first found Mirnim, the same one that had brought her before the others, held prisoner by one arm wrenched behind her back, his other hand buried in her hair, which he pulled taut. She could, even in the cellar, feel the dull side of a blade against her skin, hear the fabric ripping. . .he was the one who had brought this upon her, and she hated him.
Ulkaer, Mirnim named him, Evil One. He came to her, his face hidden in shadow, breathing heavily as though with apprehension. She wanted to scream, but what good would it do? She had not the courage to sneer something nasty at him; Mirnim had been broken. Instead she whimpered.
"Shh," Ulkaer commanded, putting a finger to her lips. She recoiled. "Quiet down, now!" he commanded in a hiss, and Mirnim obeyed. Ulkaer drew out a knife, and she was frightened enough that she nearly squealed, but feared that blade too badly. To her surprise, he cut her free. "Go now, and do not dare look back. If I see you again I will kill you," he whispered, handing her some meager supplies--a small amount of water and a tiny knife.
Mirnim nodded. Ulkaer disappeared, and she got unsteadily to her feet. Slowly, strangely, Mirnim go her bearings. She fled the cellar to the woods, and ran for all she was worth. Where she was going she knew not, and what she would do she dared not consider. All her thought, every fibre of her being, was bent on getting away.
As the sun rose, her terror continued but her pains were only beginning. All through the morning she ran, into the afternoon, beyond normal physical capabilities. Pains troubled her, but she ignored them, thinking only of survival. How far she had gone she knew not, but Mirnim could take no more. In a daze she collapsed beside a stream.
Breathing harder than ever before, Mirnim dipped her hands into the stream to take a sip. She had been given water by Ulkaer, but swallowed it as best she could earlier. Now she brought her cupped hands to her mouth and tipped her head backwards. Her throat was too closed up to take in the drink, which dribbled down her front. With a moan Mirnim reached out to try again, desperate for water. This time her world went black, and she collapsed.
Len: I shall try to update as much as I can. Thanks! Interesting is good, right?
Passion Lover: Being corrected is no problem with me, it's people like Meryl who light right into me without thinking that perhaps there was a reason I said whatever it is I said. Anyway, thanks!
Crystal: Yes, you are right! Thanks. (
Paper Crane: First off, awesome name (I recently made one thousand origami cranes). Thanks, Mary-Sue seems to be way overused--it is good to know that not everyone thinks an original character is a Mary-Sue! Ah, yes, the titles of the chapters are lyrics to The Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The-ringspell: No! Please don't kill me! It wasn't my fault! I had to my vocab, and then. . .and I. . .but I got this chapter up eventually! Please don't kill me! (just kidding, of course. But I would appreciate it if you did not kill me.)
Nostamoon: Thanks, and the worse the cliffhanger, the better the surprise, usually!
TrekandJedimaster: Don't worry, I'm more or less here for the next three months! So I can post as many "ruddy cliffhangers" as needed. . .mwu haha. . .
Jheskia: Legolas will probably come in in the chapter after this one, maybe the one after that. But I promise plenty of Mirkwood-Elf in this story! Lol
Aga_xris: Rivendell was not attacked, but Mirnim's hometown was. Mirnim and the boy are both around the same age, but both young teens. Or the Elven equivalent of that. Why, thank you.
Okay, hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Good readers review ;)
*****
Mirnim's feet pounded on the caked dirt. Her face and head burned, shooting painful streaks of light through her mind. Her lungs burned and screamed for air, which came with such great pain through her parched, closed throat. The aches throughout her body were intense, and the mental anguish that threatened even more so, but she would not--could not--stop running.
Mirnim tried not to think about what had happened since the night before. Had it only been the night before? It must have been. One night since she had been found by the other Elf. That night they had not killed her, but she had been afraid that they would. There were perhaps ten of them in total; he one who had found Mirnim brought her before the others. They had said many things to her, cruel, unthinkable things, but she had been spared hearing their words. The image of her dead brother, bodies strewn about, haunted her still.
Finally it had been decided that she would not be killed. Instead, Mirnim's hands and legs were bound, and she was locked for the night in a cold cellar. She had known that day had come only because of the light coming in through the cracked cellar door. The bindings on her ankles and wrists had not been cut, but bit into her flesh.
The visitor had come just after nightfall. It was the same male that had first found Mirnim, the same one that had brought her before the others, held prisoner by one arm wrenched behind her back, his other hand buried in her hair, which he pulled taut. She could, even in the cellar, feel the dull side of a blade against her skin, hear the fabric ripping. . .he was the one who had brought this upon her, and she hated him.
Ulkaer, Mirnim named him, Evil One. He came to her, his face hidden in shadow, breathing heavily as though with apprehension. She wanted to scream, but what good would it do? She had not the courage to sneer something nasty at him; Mirnim had been broken. Instead she whimpered.
"Shh," Ulkaer commanded, putting a finger to her lips. She recoiled. "Quiet down, now!" he commanded in a hiss, and Mirnim obeyed. Ulkaer drew out a knife, and she was frightened enough that she nearly squealed, but feared that blade too badly. To her surprise, he cut her free. "Go now, and do not dare look back. If I see you again I will kill you," he whispered, handing her some meager supplies--a small amount of water and a tiny knife.
Mirnim nodded. Ulkaer disappeared, and she got unsteadily to her feet. Slowly, strangely, Mirnim go her bearings. She fled the cellar to the woods, and ran for all she was worth. Where she was going she knew not, and what she would do she dared not consider. All her thought, every fibre of her being, was bent on getting away.
As the sun rose, her terror continued but her pains were only beginning. All through the morning she ran, into the afternoon, beyond normal physical capabilities. Pains troubled her, but she ignored them, thinking only of survival. How far she had gone she knew not, but Mirnim could take no more. In a daze she collapsed beside a stream.
Breathing harder than ever before, Mirnim dipped her hands into the stream to take a sip. She had been given water by Ulkaer, but swallowed it as best she could earlier. Now she brought her cupped hands to her mouth and tipped her head backwards. Her throat was too closed up to take in the drink, which dribbled down her front. With a moan Mirnim reached out to try again, desperate for water. This time her world went black, and she collapsed.