Chapter 19: No Love
Drogo stood at the top of the mountain range past the great bog. He surveyed the land before him and saw the first place that he had found on the map that may suffice as the place where they had Aubrey and Adrielle. The castle walls were starting to wear down and it seemed as if the place was about to fall on its own. The black clouds started to cover the bright sun's rays from sight and the land they stepped on grew dark. Drogo was almost certain that this was the place that held Aubrey. Philon stepped next to Drogo and watched as the volcanic smoke rose from what seemed to be within the castle walls. The others stayed behind them watching from a safe distance as the smoke swirled and took a life of its own as it blocked the sun from view. All of them backed up against the wall to make sure they were not to be seen if any orcs should start to look their way.
"Drogo, are you sure this is the way?" Kat asked from the back of the group walking with Thomas.
"Nearly sure," Drogo and Philon reached the side of the castle walls, "It looks like the place Aubrey described once before."
"Where are all the orcs?" Thomas asked looking at the sides of the walls, "Shouldn't this place be swarmed with orcs?"
Philon stepped out from the wall and pulled the hobbit back against the wall. As soon as Thomas looked back at where he was standing he saw a huge orc arrow stuck in the ground. He looked at Philon and gave him a grateful grin.
"Answer your question, Master Took?" Philon rolled his eyes at the young Took.
"Please call me Thomas," Thomas held out his hand as if he was meeting him for the first time. Philon dropped him and grabbed his bow.
"We could really use Aubrey's skills at bow right now," Kate said looking at the waterfall of arrows coming over the side of the wall.
"Well, right now you have me," Philon began shooting at the orcs over hanging over the wall trying to target them. Drogo continued along the wall hoping to find a crack or something in the foundation to crawl through. At the corner of the wall he found a stream of water running underneath a barred window. He jumped into the water without even thinking.
"Drogo! What were you thinking; it is blooming hot out here! That water could have been boiling!" Kate scolded him.
"Well, it is quite cool actually. Come on, I think this can lead into the castle," he dove under the water and disappeared from the sights of his friends.
"Should we follow?" Kat looked at the others.
"Well, we should do something," Philon was backing up toward them with every arrow he shot, "I'm running out of good shots and they are getting closer."
"Right then," both Thomas and Faramir jumped into the water and began to follow Drogo under the water. The girls entered next and Philon shot one of his last arrows and dove in after them.
On the other side of the crack, Adrielle continued to cry as she saw the last of Aubrey disappear around the corner only a minute or so ago. In a matter of minutes that monster will do the same thing he did to her to Aubrey. Adrielle hit the cell floor blaming herself for putting the princess in that situation, she just should have kept her mouth shut and let the princess sleep through it and never mention it.
She crawled over to the crack with the flowing water and started to splash her face with the clean water. She let the water soak on her face and let the dirt slide off. The remaining water that was in her hands fell through her fingers. She began to walk back toward where she was sitting when a bunch of bubbles in the water caught her attention. She watched with curiosity. In the few days that she was in the cell she never saw bubbles like these in the water's surface. In a matter of seconds the bubbles turned into a person exploding from beneath the water's surface.
"Drogo?" Adrielle pulled the hobbit from the water and into the cell, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not the only one," Drogo coughed out the water that was still lodged in his throat, "Where is Aubrey?"
"Carond took her," Adrielle said pointing out the cell bars, "I couldn't stop him from taking her Drogo. The orc is guarding the door and I can't go and find her. I can't stop him. He will . . . he will . . ."
"What? What will he do to her?" Drogo grabbed her shoulders and started to shake her a little.
"What he did to me . . . he will try to rape her, Drogo."
Drogo's face fell as the others broke through the water and started to climb out of the small water hole. Adrielle took his hands in hers, "I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. She went with him to keep him from taking me again."
Drogo's face was filled with anger and ran to the bars of the cell, "Hey orc!"
The orc guarding the cell looked in on him and wondered how he got in there.
"You have an intruder, what are you going to do about it?"
The orc opened the door and rushed in at Drogo. Drogo jumped and hit him in the jaw. The orc fell to the floor and Drogo held his blade up to its throat, "Where is Carond's room?"
"It is up the stairs down the hall, Drogo," Adrielle said from behind, "Hurry, please hurry."
Drogo sliced the orc's neck into two different pieces and tore off down the floor of the cell barricade. Adrielle let her head drop, praying that Drogo would get there in time. The group of hobbits was still looking at the pool of water, waiting for something else to come out of it. Adrielle wondered what they were waiting for and stepped over next to Thomas. From underneath the water another face began to take shape and Philon gasped for air as he reached the surface.
"Philon!" Adrielle screamed and pulled him out of the water. He climbed on the cement floor and coughed whatever he needed to out. He looked up at the person who dragged him out of the water and his face began to glow with happiness.
"Adrielle," he grabbed her in his arms and held her close. He placed his head on her shoulder and took a big intake of breath of her smell. He felt her silk hair and let her grab on to him.
After a few seconds she started to push away from him. Philon loosened his grip and let her slide away from him. He didn't understand what was happening at all. He was so relieved to see her, but now all of a sudden she wasn't at all happy to see him in return.
"Philon . . . I don't deserve you," Adrielle said softly.
"What are you saying, Adrielle? I love you," he took her hand and she retracted it immediately.
"I tried, believe me I did. . . but I . . . I couldn't stop him."
"What are you saying?"
"I wasn't faithful! I was taken advantage of and . . . and I don't deserve you!" she began crying into her hands. Her shoulders began shaking as she tried to gasp for breath.
"Who? Who did that to you?"
"Carond, who else would do that?" Thomas said bitterly.
"Adrielle," he tipped her face up, "You are still faithful . . . It wasn't your choice. And I still love you."
Adrielle looked at him with such awe. He still loved her even after what she had told him.
"I will kill Carond for this," Philon stated, taking Adrielle back in his arms.
"Get in line. But I think that Drogo has the first whack at him," Faramir said, "Now what do we do?"
"As soon as Drogo gets back with Aubrey we get back to Rivendell," Philon said smoothing Adrielle's hair down.
"What about all the others?" Kate said stepping forward.
"Others?"
"Aubrey had said that there were other girls and women captured here and were forced to do hard labor. We need to free them."
"We don't have enough people to take down that many orcs," Philon said.
Thomas thought for a moment, "Maybe not now . . . but when we free the prisoners, I bet they would be dying for some pay back."
Philon and the others looked at each other and nodded.
"Well, let's get going then," Faramir said.
"I'll lead the way," Adrielle said in a little voice standing up and taking the keys from the dead orc on the ground, "I know where the others are."
***
Aubrey was thrown into the conference room and stumbled a little until she grabbed hold of the huge table in the middle of the room. Carond poked his head out the door and ordered a couple of his best orc guards around the room. After a few seconds he poked his head back in and closed the door gently so it would not make that much of a sound.
He locks the doors and walks slowly over to where Aubrey was leaning on the table where she sat only a few hours prior. He walked around her and Aubrey could feel his eyes scan her from top to bottom. He grabbed her around the waist and began to kiss her on the shoulder blades and neck. Her whole body stiffened and she felt the huge urge to cry uncontrollably. Aubrey now understood why Adrielle didn't think that she could face Philon. She was giving nearly everything to this person whom she did not love.
Aubrey closed her eyes and tried to think that she was far away from where she was . . . far away from this nightmare. She imagined she was back in the Shire, untouchable and away from Carond. She was sitting on top of one of the hills sitting in a mass of the softest grass. She was wrapped in Drogo's arms, and she felt herself fall back into him, watching his smile spread across his face. He looked down at her and put one of the most beautiful flowers in her hair. She leaned up and kissed him on the tip of his nose, one of the signs of affection they used for one another.
Aubrey slowly opened her eyes and slipped back into horrible reality. Carond picked her up in his arms and laid her down on the huge canopy bed that was in the room. He leaned over her and started to remove her clothing and his shirt. Aubrey thanked God that there was such a thing as under garments in this world and especially thanked Arwen and Adrielle for drilling the countless pieces that should go under each outfit into her brain. He leaned over her and started to whisper in her ear.
"Tell me you love me," he started to stroke the side of her bruised face.
Aubrey's eyes stayed focused on the wall facing away from him. She refused to say those words to someone that it meant nothing to. She refused to say the words to anyone else but Drogo who she was praying was just outside the castle gates.
"Tell me," he said more forcefully turning her face to face his.
"I told you when you dragged me from the cell that I would risk my body for a friend . . . not my heart. I will never break. I love Drogo . . . not you."
"You must say it . . .or I'll-"
"What? Rape me? You are on the verge of doing so anyway," Aubrey said leaning toward him. He glared at her and turned to the other wall.
"By the end of this, you will say those words," he said turning back to her. He started to undo his pants when an orc began pounding on the door, "I told you never to disturb me!"
"My Lord Carond! Intruder!"
"Then take care of them!" Carond shouted at the double doors.
"We can't he is at the foot of the stairs!"
Carond's face turned to victory after a short thought and turned to Aubrey, "As soon as I take care of your boyfriend . . . we will continue," he kissed her hard on the mouth and ran to the door.
As soon as she could Aubrey spit as much of the crude flavor of his lips and tongue out of her mouth, but couldn't get all of it out. She sat at the side of the bed and hunched over the side. She let whatever was left in her stomach let lose and the spit fall from her mouth. She had rather savor the vomit filling her mouth then his foul taste. She pushed herself off the bed. If that truly was Drogo she had to help him.
From the side of the room she heard a scratching noise and looked underneath a table to find Lilly Baggins signaling for her to run to her. She walked over to the small table and looked at her, trying to redo the buttons on her shirt.
"Mrs. Baggins . . . how?"
"Drogo is here with his cousins and Faramir," she said simply, "But from the looks of it I came just in time to save you from a perverted elf. Come on."
"What about Drogo? He is right outside the door," she said frantically pointing to the door.
"So is Carond," Lilly reminded her and started to pull her toward the escape, "And with all we know he might just push you back in here and then lock the door. By the time we have time to come and get you it might be too late."
Aubrey hesitantly nodded and followed her, but her shirt collar must have got caught on something. She pulled with all her might and felt the material rip from around her neck. She continued to follow Lilly down the crawl space closing the small door behind her. Not daring to look back at that horrible room where her dream could and would have been shattered if not for Drogo and the others. They crawled in the small crawl space for more then Aubrey could tell. As they crawled Aubrey couldn't help but notice the burning sensation on her knees and the palm of her hands. Lilly noticed her remarks about the heat and tried to explain, "We are pretty close to the fire pit now. Some girls who tried to escape before built it along the wall. They were killed before they ever had a chance to use it."
"They built it through Carond's room?"
"Carond was not living here when they built it. He was still believed to be negotiating in the forests and living in Rivendell."
When they finally reached the end, Aubrey saw the ground was full of dead orcs and living girls. She looked all around and found Kate helping one of the girls by cleaning her bandages. Kate looked up and smiled we she saw Aubrey standing next to Lilly. She ran over to her and gave her a huge hug. Aubrey squinted a little still sore from the abuse that she had sustained thus far. Kate let go and held her softly by the arms, "Aubrey . . . what have they done to you?"
"Just about everything you could throw at a person to destroy them."
Kate gave her a grave look, but Aubrey shook her head telling her that it never happened. Aubrey looked around the room and found everyone else . . . except . . .
"Where is Drogo?"
"He went to find you . . . to save you. Mrs. Baggins then went through the passage just in case you needed it. Always have a backup plan, as you used to tell me."
"Then he is still . . . I need to go," she started to run from the room.
"Aubrey, you have no weapon, you can be killed!"
"Let them try and kill me," she started to run again until she heard another voice from behind call out her name.
"Philon . . . I didn't know that you came."
Philon handed her his bow and arrows from his back, "Here."
"But you need-"
"I have my sword," he gave her a quick hug around the neck, "Thank you so much." He back away watching the expression on Aubrey's face, "You risked possibly the most sacred thing anyone possibly could so that Adrielle would not have to suffer another night."
"Philon . . . Adrielle would have and possibly did the same for me. I could not let her suffer in his hands. Not again."
He smiled and looked past her as he heard an orc yell from far off, "It sounds as if you are missing the fun. Don't let Drogo steal all of it."
Aubrey smiled back at him and took down the hall and out the door. She raced across the bridges and never really noticed the burning sensation underneath her feet. As she ran she tried to secure the bow and quiver of arrows on her back. Orcs began to yell from their posts on top of the wall and began shooting at her. She grabbed the bow and an arrow from her back and began shooting back at them. Her shot was terribly off her targets, but she did manage to take out a few who were there.
She finally made it to the building where she was in only a few moments ago. As she made her way through the halls she heard a body hit the floor and ran around the corner that she lead her to Carond's room. She strung an arrow ready to fight, but when she had made it right out side the room, there was no more enemy to fight. Drogo stood above the orc's bodies panting and looking at the door with a painful look on his face.
He stumbled to the door and began to pound on its surface. Aubrey put her bow back behind her and walked slowly up to Drogo. She could see his tears stream down his face and stopped in her tracks. She started to breathe hard; she had never wanted to hold him more in her whole life then that one moment. Then without a second thought she whispered softly to herself, "Drogo . . ."
Drogo stopped his crying and just looked down at the ground. He couldn't have heard what he had thought. She couldn't have been outside the room; she was still stuck in there with Carond, where he couldn't reach her. Then a second calling of his name was said this time ringing through the hall.
"Drogo!"
He looked up to see Aubrey running toward him. A number of arrows were on her back with the bow just over them. Her eyes were filled with tears and her clothes were torn and looked like she had dressed hastily. He pushed himself up and dropped Sting out of his hand. As she reached him she dropped the arrows and the bow from off her back and jumped into Drogo's arms.
He held her close, enclosing her in the tightest grip he could muster. Her head pushed into his chest and he could feel her tears starting to soak the front of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her body, one around her waist and the other went through her hair, bringing her head closer to him. He placed his head on the top of hers and kissed the top of it.
Aubrey smiled through her tears of happiness. She couldn't believe that after the day, maybe two, of torture here was Drogo in her arms. He had come for her as she had prayed that he had. She was no longer dreaming, he was there. He was real to touch and to love and to kiss.
She bent her head up to see his beautiful blue eyes and saw them full of tears. She cupped his face in her hands, leaned up to his face and kissed him. The kiss radiated through out both of their bodies and they couldn't find a better experience or moment in time then the one that they were having at that moment. They were back together and that was all that mattered. He brought the hand that was in her hair to cup her face as they broke the kiss. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb, also rubbing off the tears of joy streaming from her eyes and smiled.
"I thought you were still in there," he said motioning to the door, "I thought that I was too late. That I . . ."
"You are always good about getting to places on time," she smiled, kind of joking, "But I did have some help."
"From who? Let me guess, Kat and Kate, right?"
"Not exactly," at that moment the others had caught up to Aubrey in the hall with Mrs. Baggins in tow, "Drogo . . . I found your mom."
"My mother . . ."
Lilly stepped out from behind the rest of the group, slowly at first but by the time she reached the end of the group she ran to greet her son with open arms.
"Oh my . . . Drogo," she held him away from her to look at him, "You've grown so much. I've missed you and your father so much."
"Mother . . ." Drogo was still in shock, but after he looked into the eyes of the woman before him he saw his own staring back at him. He grabbed her in a hug and started to laugh because he couldn't keep the joy in any longer. He held her as close as he had Aubrey a few moments ago.
"Mrs. Baggins," Aubrey said approaching her after she had the last hug with Drogo, "Thank you so much for helping me."
"Well, I couldn't let the only girl my son loves be assaulted by that bastard," Lilly said putting her hands on her hips. Drogo was surprised by his mother's language and it showed on his face, "Oh, come now Drogo. I had to pick up some kind of edge working in a place like this."
Philon ran into the hall, disturbing the moment, "Princess Aubrey! Carond is at the fire pit and it's strange he is holding a black light in his hand."
"What?" Drogo asked, "That can't be he ran into the room as soon as I killed off his orc body guards."
They all broke through the door only to find the window facing the fire pit was broken out. Aubrey thought to herself, 'Black light . . . what is that black light?' She felt around her neck to realize that her amulet was gone. It no longer stood in the place that it had once been. She thought back to when she first went through the tunnel to escape to the other cells; the neck of her shirt got caught on something. Maybe when the material broke it had taken the amulet with it.
"No . . ." Aubrey whispered as she patted her chest where the amulet was supposed to be, "Carond has the amulet."
"What?" Drogo turned to her, "How?"
"It got snagged. I never noticed. . ." her eyes grew huge, "It's entirely my fault."
"Aubrey, don't jump to conclusions," Drogo started to try and calm her down.
Aubrey shook her head and ran into the hall. She picked up the bow and arrows that were on the floor and ran out toward the fire pit.
There in the middle of all the mayhem, Carond stood holding the amulet above his head. A black light beamed out from it and started to flash around the area, "It is time that the Dark Lord walked among us once again. Let him rise from the ashes of Middle Earth and once again rule over all!" Carond pointed the jewel downward and into the fire. The black beam started to boil in the already magma hot pit.
Aubrey stared at him with horror, "NO!"