Disclaimer – only the Orcs and Uruk-Hai I've given characters to are mine,
that's it. I merely live in a world I don't own.
A/N – Thanks to LOTR Lover, Amarth and Womba Warrior for the reviews. LOTR Lover – the idea of reversals is what compelled me to write, and Amarth and Womba – you feel sorry for them now… just you wait! I'm giving no clues away to the ending though, at least not yet. And sorry it's taken so long to update, I had a severe case of inspiration for my forward fic – it was so painful I just had to do something about it. Anyway, on, on!
Chapter 9 – One Sided Revelations
Hate.
Blind, consuming, blood pounding hate.
How he hated. How he hated Vashlash, how he hated Nudlik, how he hated Drusbruk. How he hated all the Orcs that a few moments ago had meant so much to him. All but one, and her luminous orbs filled with pain running from him was a sight he would never forget.
For a moment he stood still, wallowing in his loathing of everything except one, until a tentative voice disturbed him. "Sir?"
Bagshash swung around to face the voice, ready to lash out, to kill. Captain Gagnik flinched and recoiled away from the raised fist that could have headed in his direction, and stood quivering. Bagshash checked his initial anger, managing to push out a relatively calm question.
"What do you want?
Gagnik gulped before speaking. "I was wondering, sir, if we can have permission to go deeper into the trees. The sun you see sir, the troops are finding it difficult to manage…"
"The point of the exercise is that they acclimatize to the sun, I hope you haven't forget that Captain." Bagshash said, finding his position in command as an easy outlet for his anger. "In fact," He added quickly. "I intend to start moving again within the hour. See the troops are ready."
"But sir, it's hardly after noon, and we were travelling all…"
"Do it." Bagshash ordered, raising a hand threateningly. Gagnik squeaked and promptly ran away to carry out the order, and Bagshash realised he was punishing the entire company just for the way a few had treated him, but he didn't care, it felt… good. Well, he pondered to himself, we were fashioned to be cruel; I'm doing what I was created for. With a new purpose in mind, he went to check on his enemies on the river. They were still behind but gaining slowly. Bagshash stared at them with a new sense of hate in his mind; soon, soon.
Gorplak ran from Bagshash in pain and sadness. How dare Bagshash suggest that she had run to the arms of another after his treachery! And why should he even care? Confusion was paramount in her mind, and when she found he wasn't following she threw herself to the floor, curling up into a ball. If she had known how to cry she would have, but it escaped her, so she just lay in utter misery. She almost wished Drusbruk would find her and finish the job he started, death seemed a comforting oblivion over this. And someone did find her in her vulnerability.
"Poor little goblin." Vashlash spoke quietly as she laid a friendly hand on Gorplak's shoulder. Vashlash felt horrible; Gorplak and Bagshash had obviously had a big argument, and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't spread those rumours, everyone would be happy. The fact that Gorplak had accepted her words, and was still willing to call her a friend just made her feel even worse. Vashlash couldn't bring herself to say anything, she just sat and held Gorplak, and tried to piece together how to even begin to say sorry.
They still sat, huddled, when they were given the orders to march only a short while later. Vashlash helped Gorplak up, who was still weak from the fight but felt that the pain inside was worse than her physical wounds, and deemed herself fit to go on. And the marching began again.
Bagshash wandered the column a few times, each time he passed Gorplak, sparing her a glance but nothing more, and Gorplak didn't even look at him. Her condition worried him; her head wound was still raw and open but beginning to heal, even so she looked as though she was suffering, and Bagshash knew that part of it was because of him. He didn't linger long at her section of the column, especially with Vashlash beside Gorplak and Nudlik behind. He didn't linger long at all.
The sun continued to shine. To everyone's horror it was a long and sunny day, eyes searched the sky but not even a hint of forgiving cloud could be seen. The birds were singing and everyone was thoroughly depressed. As the sun finally began its descend, Bagshash took pity on the distressed Orcs and called a brief halt; the quiet of the march had allowed him to think and his temper to cool.
Nudlik and Vashlash took the respite to talk; Gorplak took it to sleep away her pain for a short while. Nudlik offered to watch over her while she slept, which she accepted gratefully, and was soon dead to the world, or as near to it as she could be.
"You should tell them." Nudlik said quietly, after checking for the third time that Gorplak truly was asleep.
"I know." Vashlash replied miserably. " But I don't know how. Commander Bagshash doesn't know what I told her, and he thinks that she's with you because he left her. It's all so confused."
"Just tell them the truth." Nudlik pulled Vashlash closer to comfort her. "They're so unhappy, and they don't need to be. You can tell Gorplak loves him by looking at her face, and Bagshash feels the same even if he won't admit it." He smiled briefly. "Every time he passed her in the column, you could see the concern in his eyes. You have to tell them."
"I'll tell Gorplak," Vashlash finally relented, "But Bagshash would have my head for all the trouble I've caused. He'd kill me for sure."
"Then I'll tell him." Nudlik offered. "But we do it now, it's not fair. Alright?"
Vashlash nodded reluctantly. Nudlik smiled again and kissed Vashlash soundly before standing. "You wake Gorplak, I'll so and find Bagshash, and then maybe we can have a day resting tomorrow." He added with a wink. He set off on his mission.
Vashlash took a breath, and set about her own mission. Yet she found she didn't have Nudlik's conviction. Maybe it could wait until Gorplak woke up herself…
Bagshash had just discovered how little time command gives you to think about yourself, and he was glad of the distractions. He was just pondering some weapons drills when a figure brought his own personal dilemma straight back to him.
"Sir?"
"What do you want?" Bagshash growled at Nudlik, in no mood for pleasantries. If Gorplak's new lover was nervous, he didn't show it.
"There's a matter that needs discussion sir, about a certain Archer Gorplak." Her name on his lips made Bagshash want to rip him to shreds before he even uttered another word, but he controlled his urge.
"What about her?"
"There's been a misunderstanding sir…"
"I'm going to say he didn't believe you." Vashlash gently sponged Nudlik's black eye and various claw marks as he tried not to flinch.
"Not at first." Nudlik agreed, but when I swore it in the name of our Dark Lord I think he believed me. Why else do you think he bounded off to find her?" Nudlik flinched again before changing the subject. "So you've told Gorplak everything?"
"Well," Vashlash was a little hesitant. Nudlik instantly began to worry.
"You did tell her everything didn't you?"
"I tried, I really did!" Vashlash defended herself. "But I didn't want to wake her…"
Nudlik groaned. "Morgoth save us now."
Bagshash gazed down at Gorplak's still sleeping form. Do you think me so cruel that I would choose Vashlash over you? He thought, resisting the urge to awaken her covering her in kisses from his lips. Instead he gently placed a hand on her cheek, stroking the rough skin until he saw her eyes begin to focus on him.
"Bagshash?" The voice was a little hesitant, a little sleepy, a little confused. She felt his touch upon her cheek and for an instant enjoyed it, until she remembered their parting words. Bagshash saw the look of confusion deepen, and cradled her face in his hands.
"It's alright, Vashlash told you the truth, everything she said was a lie."
"What?" The words made no sense to Gorplak. Bagshash tried to clarify them.
"What Vashlash just told you is the truth. She was lying when she said she and I had…" Bagshash paused to stop the flow of words coming out of his mouth as Gorplak started to shake her head. "And I'm sorry for thinking that you and Nudlik did anything. I should have trusted you my love…"
"You…" Gorplak tried to free herself from Bagshash's touch as she tried to take in his words; my love? "Why are you still lying to me? Why the obsession with causing me pain" Vashlash was lying? They hadn't done anything? But she had seen them.
"Nothing happened between me and Vashlash, I swear it in the name of Morgoth himself. Gorplak, I love you, I know that now…"
"I saw you."
Gorplak's short statement brought Bagshash to a halt. "What did you see?" He asked quietly.
"I saw you together in the forest, I saw you strike her, I saw you draw blood, and I saw you feed upon. Then I left because if I saw any more I thought my heart would break." She hadn't met his gaze before but she did now. "But it already has." She stopped to breath before she could go on. "I loved you. And this is what I get for my love."
Bagshash was stunned. "You love me?" His head reeled from this piece if information, elation filled him until her next words pierced the feeling like a knife.
"No." Gorplak corrected him. "I loved you, and then you decided to chose another."
"But what about what Vashlash told you? We didn't do anything." He hung his head in shame for a moment as guilt passed through him. "Admittedly I wanted her briefly, but I walked away." He raised his head again. "I walked away, pledging myself to you."
"And why should I believe you?" Gorplak asked. How she wanted to believe him. How she wanted to cling to him and whisper her love for him, but she couldn't.
"Vashlash was lying, I thought she told you…?"
"I haven't seen Vashlash since the march ended." Gorplak said, her confusion and anger growing as each moment on his presence passed.
"Nothing happened, I swear it." Bagshash tried once more to convince her of his sincerity. If she didn't believe him, he didn't know what he would do. "I swear it."
Gorplak was silent for a few moments. "I don't believe you. Leave me alone."
"But…"
"Go away… sir."
Anger. Sadness. And something that made him want to rip out his own insides. But the only thing he could think to do was to make Gorplak happy.
So he walked away.
And Gorplak let him. It would have been so easy to call his name, forgive him, hold him as a warrior would a favoured weapon and never let go. But she couldn't; she let him go.
Only a short while later the march was resumed. It was still light, but the Orcs went on.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
So there's still much confusion: Bagshash now knows where it all went wrong, but how can he persuade the stubborn Gorplak? Will she ever trust him again? Or will someone help him? I have it all in my head, but you'll have to wait and see! I'll try and upload the next installement quicker so I don't leave you all in suspense. Until next time dear reader!
A/N – Thanks to LOTR Lover, Amarth and Womba Warrior for the reviews. LOTR Lover – the idea of reversals is what compelled me to write, and Amarth and Womba – you feel sorry for them now… just you wait! I'm giving no clues away to the ending though, at least not yet. And sorry it's taken so long to update, I had a severe case of inspiration for my forward fic – it was so painful I just had to do something about it. Anyway, on, on!
Chapter 9 – One Sided Revelations
Hate.
Blind, consuming, blood pounding hate.
How he hated. How he hated Vashlash, how he hated Nudlik, how he hated Drusbruk. How he hated all the Orcs that a few moments ago had meant so much to him. All but one, and her luminous orbs filled with pain running from him was a sight he would never forget.
For a moment he stood still, wallowing in his loathing of everything except one, until a tentative voice disturbed him. "Sir?"
Bagshash swung around to face the voice, ready to lash out, to kill. Captain Gagnik flinched and recoiled away from the raised fist that could have headed in his direction, and stood quivering. Bagshash checked his initial anger, managing to push out a relatively calm question.
"What do you want?
Gagnik gulped before speaking. "I was wondering, sir, if we can have permission to go deeper into the trees. The sun you see sir, the troops are finding it difficult to manage…"
"The point of the exercise is that they acclimatize to the sun, I hope you haven't forget that Captain." Bagshash said, finding his position in command as an easy outlet for his anger. "In fact," He added quickly. "I intend to start moving again within the hour. See the troops are ready."
"But sir, it's hardly after noon, and we were travelling all…"
"Do it." Bagshash ordered, raising a hand threateningly. Gagnik squeaked and promptly ran away to carry out the order, and Bagshash realised he was punishing the entire company just for the way a few had treated him, but he didn't care, it felt… good. Well, he pondered to himself, we were fashioned to be cruel; I'm doing what I was created for. With a new purpose in mind, he went to check on his enemies on the river. They were still behind but gaining slowly. Bagshash stared at them with a new sense of hate in his mind; soon, soon.
Gorplak ran from Bagshash in pain and sadness. How dare Bagshash suggest that she had run to the arms of another after his treachery! And why should he even care? Confusion was paramount in her mind, and when she found he wasn't following she threw herself to the floor, curling up into a ball. If she had known how to cry she would have, but it escaped her, so she just lay in utter misery. She almost wished Drusbruk would find her and finish the job he started, death seemed a comforting oblivion over this. And someone did find her in her vulnerability.
"Poor little goblin." Vashlash spoke quietly as she laid a friendly hand on Gorplak's shoulder. Vashlash felt horrible; Gorplak and Bagshash had obviously had a big argument, and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't spread those rumours, everyone would be happy. The fact that Gorplak had accepted her words, and was still willing to call her a friend just made her feel even worse. Vashlash couldn't bring herself to say anything, she just sat and held Gorplak, and tried to piece together how to even begin to say sorry.
They still sat, huddled, when they were given the orders to march only a short while later. Vashlash helped Gorplak up, who was still weak from the fight but felt that the pain inside was worse than her physical wounds, and deemed herself fit to go on. And the marching began again.
Bagshash wandered the column a few times, each time he passed Gorplak, sparing her a glance but nothing more, and Gorplak didn't even look at him. Her condition worried him; her head wound was still raw and open but beginning to heal, even so she looked as though she was suffering, and Bagshash knew that part of it was because of him. He didn't linger long at her section of the column, especially with Vashlash beside Gorplak and Nudlik behind. He didn't linger long at all.
The sun continued to shine. To everyone's horror it was a long and sunny day, eyes searched the sky but not even a hint of forgiving cloud could be seen. The birds were singing and everyone was thoroughly depressed. As the sun finally began its descend, Bagshash took pity on the distressed Orcs and called a brief halt; the quiet of the march had allowed him to think and his temper to cool.
Nudlik and Vashlash took the respite to talk; Gorplak took it to sleep away her pain for a short while. Nudlik offered to watch over her while she slept, which she accepted gratefully, and was soon dead to the world, or as near to it as she could be.
"You should tell them." Nudlik said quietly, after checking for the third time that Gorplak truly was asleep.
"I know." Vashlash replied miserably. " But I don't know how. Commander Bagshash doesn't know what I told her, and he thinks that she's with you because he left her. It's all so confused."
"Just tell them the truth." Nudlik pulled Vashlash closer to comfort her. "They're so unhappy, and they don't need to be. You can tell Gorplak loves him by looking at her face, and Bagshash feels the same even if he won't admit it." He smiled briefly. "Every time he passed her in the column, you could see the concern in his eyes. You have to tell them."
"I'll tell Gorplak," Vashlash finally relented, "But Bagshash would have my head for all the trouble I've caused. He'd kill me for sure."
"Then I'll tell him." Nudlik offered. "But we do it now, it's not fair. Alright?"
Vashlash nodded reluctantly. Nudlik smiled again and kissed Vashlash soundly before standing. "You wake Gorplak, I'll so and find Bagshash, and then maybe we can have a day resting tomorrow." He added with a wink. He set off on his mission.
Vashlash took a breath, and set about her own mission. Yet she found she didn't have Nudlik's conviction. Maybe it could wait until Gorplak woke up herself…
Bagshash had just discovered how little time command gives you to think about yourself, and he was glad of the distractions. He was just pondering some weapons drills when a figure brought his own personal dilemma straight back to him.
"Sir?"
"What do you want?" Bagshash growled at Nudlik, in no mood for pleasantries. If Gorplak's new lover was nervous, he didn't show it.
"There's a matter that needs discussion sir, about a certain Archer Gorplak." Her name on his lips made Bagshash want to rip him to shreds before he even uttered another word, but he controlled his urge.
"What about her?"
"There's been a misunderstanding sir…"
"I'm going to say he didn't believe you." Vashlash gently sponged Nudlik's black eye and various claw marks as he tried not to flinch.
"Not at first." Nudlik agreed, but when I swore it in the name of our Dark Lord I think he believed me. Why else do you think he bounded off to find her?" Nudlik flinched again before changing the subject. "So you've told Gorplak everything?"
"Well," Vashlash was a little hesitant. Nudlik instantly began to worry.
"You did tell her everything didn't you?"
"I tried, I really did!" Vashlash defended herself. "But I didn't want to wake her…"
Nudlik groaned. "Morgoth save us now."
Bagshash gazed down at Gorplak's still sleeping form. Do you think me so cruel that I would choose Vashlash over you? He thought, resisting the urge to awaken her covering her in kisses from his lips. Instead he gently placed a hand on her cheek, stroking the rough skin until he saw her eyes begin to focus on him.
"Bagshash?" The voice was a little hesitant, a little sleepy, a little confused. She felt his touch upon her cheek and for an instant enjoyed it, until she remembered their parting words. Bagshash saw the look of confusion deepen, and cradled her face in his hands.
"It's alright, Vashlash told you the truth, everything she said was a lie."
"What?" The words made no sense to Gorplak. Bagshash tried to clarify them.
"What Vashlash just told you is the truth. She was lying when she said she and I had…" Bagshash paused to stop the flow of words coming out of his mouth as Gorplak started to shake her head. "And I'm sorry for thinking that you and Nudlik did anything. I should have trusted you my love…"
"You…" Gorplak tried to free herself from Bagshash's touch as she tried to take in his words; my love? "Why are you still lying to me? Why the obsession with causing me pain" Vashlash was lying? They hadn't done anything? But she had seen them.
"Nothing happened between me and Vashlash, I swear it in the name of Morgoth himself. Gorplak, I love you, I know that now…"
"I saw you."
Gorplak's short statement brought Bagshash to a halt. "What did you see?" He asked quietly.
"I saw you together in the forest, I saw you strike her, I saw you draw blood, and I saw you feed upon. Then I left because if I saw any more I thought my heart would break." She hadn't met his gaze before but she did now. "But it already has." She stopped to breath before she could go on. "I loved you. And this is what I get for my love."
Bagshash was stunned. "You love me?" His head reeled from this piece if information, elation filled him until her next words pierced the feeling like a knife.
"No." Gorplak corrected him. "I loved you, and then you decided to chose another."
"But what about what Vashlash told you? We didn't do anything." He hung his head in shame for a moment as guilt passed through him. "Admittedly I wanted her briefly, but I walked away." He raised his head again. "I walked away, pledging myself to you."
"And why should I believe you?" Gorplak asked. How she wanted to believe him. How she wanted to cling to him and whisper her love for him, but she couldn't.
"Vashlash was lying, I thought she told you…?"
"I haven't seen Vashlash since the march ended." Gorplak said, her confusion and anger growing as each moment on his presence passed.
"Nothing happened, I swear it." Bagshash tried once more to convince her of his sincerity. If she didn't believe him, he didn't know what he would do. "I swear it."
Gorplak was silent for a few moments. "I don't believe you. Leave me alone."
"But…"
"Go away… sir."
Anger. Sadness. And something that made him want to rip out his own insides. But the only thing he could think to do was to make Gorplak happy.
So he walked away.
And Gorplak let him. It would have been so easy to call his name, forgive him, hold him as a warrior would a favoured weapon and never let go. But she couldn't; she let him go.
Only a short while later the march was resumed. It was still light, but the Orcs went on.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
So there's still much confusion: Bagshash now knows where it all went wrong, but how can he persuade the stubborn Gorplak? Will she ever trust him again? Or will someone help him? I have it all in my head, but you'll have to wait and see! I'll try and upload the next installement quicker so I don't leave you all in suspense. Until next time dear reader!
