Disclaimer: I can imagine owning them, you can probably imagine me owning
them but if I did own them I wouldn't have to imagine them. Is that too
simple?
Ch 25 Escape and capture
Fred leaned her back against David, she was beginning to feel like she was going to be alright although there was still a feeling of dread every time an Orc came in and took her to the torture room. She didn't know why but she hadn't been as affected by the torture over the past few hours, maybe she was just getting immune to it or no longer cared about what happened to her. She felt safe with David and was actually pleased whenever they threw her back into the cell.
Saruman no longer terrified her as he had done before but she still hated it when she had to look into those dark and stormy eyes. David had explained that he had felt the same way for some time. Although he had never really been pressured into looking at Saruman. He found that the Wizard had no time for him any more. It was fine with him; he had no desire to come face to face with such a powerful man. In truth he didn't know how Fred could do it and not tell him everything he wanted to know. He didn't know whether to ask her about it or not mention it. He knew from experience that torture was not something you openly discussed. Mostly because other people didn't want to hear about what might happen to them.
Fred could tell that there was something wrong with David. She sat up and turned to face him, ever since their kiss earlier that day they had grown closer and could almost read each other's thoughts.
"Is something wrong? Apart from the obvious I mean."
"No nothing. I was just thinking."
"I haven't been here long but I've discovered that doing too much thinking, especially remembering is bad for you."
"You are right, of course." He almost laughed at her knowledge and advice. She had been here only a few days and already she had begun to understand the workings of the prison.
"Were you thinking about anything in particular or just general stuff that you don't want to tell me about?"
"Mostly general 'stuff'. I was thinking about you."
"Me?"
"Why do you find that so surprising?"
"I just didn't know you would think about me."
He laughed once again and leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I was just thinking how brave you were. I mean you don't deserve to be here and yet you never complain. I admire it."
"Admire? Wow. I'm not the only one that's suffering you know, you have been here longer than me and have probably been through more than me. I mean the worst thing that has happened to me was the eye thing. Come on what's the worst that's happened to you?" She instantly regretted saying this when she looked at David's face. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." She apologised.
"It is alright. You have been honest with me and now it's my turn. The worst thing that has happened to me." He pretended to be thinking but she knew he was deciding whether he should tell her or not. "It happened when I first came here. One of the Orcs, who I later killed by the way, strung me up outside the tower for a few hours. It didn't seem too bad at the time, quite painless really. Then he came back and whipped me. Time and time again. He left me for two days out in the freezing cold and came back and whipped me again and repeated the whole thing for almost two weeks.
"Two weeks without food or water, apart from the rain, and him whipping me every two days. That was the worst thing that has happened to me. When he finally released me I could hardly stand up and when I did it hurt so much that I fell back down.
"I went back to my cell and cried in the corner for days and waited for the pain to leave, I learned to ignore it after a while. I ate their poor excuse for food and gained enough strength to try and escape but unfortunately it didn't work, obviously."
Fred didn't know what to say. She had never seen him be so honest before and she almost wished that he hadn't told her everything, now this man who she had thought to be strong and brave was actually just as scared as she was.
"That's not what you wanted to hear was it?" He asked pulling her close.
"I just.I didn't know."
"How could you? What about you? I told you everything about my first session. What about yours? Now we're telling secrets."
"The first day I realised I was here I was too terrified to do anything. I curled up in the corner and tried to push the terrible things out of my mind. I was in a cell smaller than this one with skeletons all around it. I had never seen anything like it before and I was a little overwhelmed. So I did nothing and tried to pretend that I wasn't really here. I wish I could do that now.
"The first torture I got was an Orc delivering my food. It was poisoned and had some kind of drug in it that made me see terrible things. I can't remember many of them now but I remember being too scared to move. When I woke up they were gone but I was faced with Saruman. That's when I saw you for the first time, with the pokers." She smiled.
"You didn't have to do that you know. I was trying to help you."
"I couldn't let you suffer could I? Besides you didn't deserve it and shouldn't have offered either. You don't see me messing around with your torture do you?" She smiled and he couldn't help but laugh at her attempt at humour.
He hugged her tighter and thought about what she might have looked like so scared. He couldn't imagine what seeing all those things was like, he had never experience it himself but he guessed it was pretty bad. He was sure that Fred did remember what she had seen but he couldn't blame her for not wanting to mention it.
"How is your eye?" He asked trying to break the uneasy silence that no lingered between them.
"It is better. It still hurts. But it is all beginning to blend together now." She smiled at him letting him know that she didn't mind talking about it.
He nodded at her and began stroking her hair. He felt her tense when she heard a sound, something many of the prisoners did not matter how long they had been there.
"What? Is something wrong?" He asked as she sat up.
"Someone's coming." She said simply and stood up as if it would offer her some kind of protection. "Now's our chance." David didn't know what this meant and he didn't have time to ask because the Orc came storming in mumbling something in his evil tongue.
The Orc placed some water on the floor in a small metal tin and a tin of what could be described as food. Fred stood near the door and David realised that she was getting closer and closer and suddenly he understood what she was doing. He couldn't believe she was actually going to try it after all his failed attempts but before he could do anything she had slammed the door shut but left a small gap so she could open it again easily. The Orc swung round just in time to see her do it and while his attention was off David the strong man was on his back and had him on the floor.
David punched him repeatedly in the face until the Orc began to lose consciousness.
"Wait." Fred shouted. David instantly stopped although he didn't know why. "Keys." Fred said simply.
"Where are the keys?" He shouted at the semi-conscious Orc. He knew they didn't have time to stay too long.
The Orc didn't waste much time in handing over the keys to David who was still on top of him holding him down. David snatched the keys and knocked the Orc out before he could make any noise.
Fred opened the door a little more when David was at her side. She looked out to find the coast was clear. She saw that there was nothing in the corridor and opened the door a little further. Before she could run out she felt David gently but firmly grab her arm and pull her back slightly.
"This is crazy you know." David said in a hushed voice.
"I know. We have to try. I am not just going to sit here and wait for something to happen. Your attempts might have failed but mine won't. Are you coming or not?" She said having very little patience. He nodded and walked out into the corridor with her.
She ran through as if not concerned about whether she ran into any Orcs or not but he was sure she knew something that he didn't otherwise she wouldn't be so confident. He followed close behind her and tried not to make any noise. She turned around and smiled at his effort.
"Don't worry. Orcs don't come down here unless they absolutely have to and even then it's only slaves, they wouldn't be too strong. I'd save your stealth techniques for when we get closer to the exit." He smiled at her and relaxed slightly.
They walked through the corridors and from the confidence Fred walked with he guessed she had been down here before although he decided it best not to question her, she seemed to be enjoying her freedom but he had been like that once and gotten caught. He hoped that wouldn't happen this time, he didn't want to see her get hurt plus the thought of being outside Orthanc for the first time in years rather appealed to him.
Fred opened a large door with one of the keys from the big chain she had got from the Orc that was lying unconscious in their cell. She turned the key in the lock and confidently opened the door. When she did she wished she hadn't been so confident and been a little more cautious when opening the door. On the other side of the door there were a gang of Orcs beating up a man who had chains tied to his legs and rope around his body making sure his arms couldn't move. Fred stood frozen for a minute, as did the Orcs on the other side. The man they were beating also looked up and stared at them for a brief second there was a hint of anger on his face.
Fred suddenly snapped into action and pulled the door shut just as the Orcs leaped towards her. She heard them slam against the door and try and break it down. She quickly relocked the door and ran out of the way. She didn't want to be anywhere near them when they finally broke through. She was no longer relaxed and she ran as fast as she could. David kept up with her as they raced through corridors and down steps.
After what seemed an eternity Fred and David came to the ground floor of the tower, surprisingly there were no Orcs waiting for them but neither had time to think about it, they ran through the small hall and towards the door. David was becoming more and more nervous; he didn't like the fact that Orthanc was so deserted. There was something very wrong, he wanted to warn Fred but he was too out of breath.
Fred rushed through the door she knew led to the outside. She was quickly followed by David. Both of them stopped suddenly when they saw what awaited them. There were Orcs, hundreds of Orcs. They were all lined up and dressed in battle gear; they were obviously waiting for Fred and David. They couldn't believe it, they had been so close, they had set foot out of Orthanc. They knew there was no way they could escape now so they put their hands on their heads and waited for something to happen.
Saruman walked up the never-ending steps and stood in front of them.
"Do you like your welcoming party?" He said slyly.
Fred had to use all her will power not to hit out at him; she knew she would be dead before she could do anything. She said nothing and Saruman signalled for one of the Orcs standing close by to take them away.
"Take her to the courtyard and leave her there for a few hours out in the freezing rain, we'll see if she tried to escape again. As for him.take him back to the dungeon, he is no use to me."
"No." David screamed. He wanted to help Fred but there was nothing he could do. Saruman smiled evilly at him knowing exactly what to do to upset the man. He would hurt what he loved most in the prison, Fred. He didn't want to have to hurt her, secretly he wanted her for himself but knew she had a greater purpose. It hadn't surprised him when they had tried to escape. It was just one more failed escape attempt to add to David's list.
He signalled to his guards to garb David but they didn't take him anywhere. The held him tightly so he had to watch what was going to happen to Fred.
"You remember how this works, don't you David? I tie her up and whip her. It is an old but effective punishment."
"You still need her. You're not going to hurt her."
"Do you think she needs to be able to walk to talk to me? How foolish." He smiled.
The two Orcs that had been holding Fred dragged her to a strange looking wooden contraption. She didn't know what it was called but she remembered what it was used for. David had described it earlier and now she regretted asking about it. She knew they were going to torture her but she didn't know what they wanted. She tried to struggle but she knew there was no way she could escape with half of Saruman's army watching her. There would be no point.
The Orcs tied her to the wooden torture block and stood back awaiting their master's orders.
"Tell me Fred did you really think you could escape?" He laughed and it sent a wave of nausea through her. She hadn't realised she would be punished like this if they got caught. She wondered what they would do to David. She hoped they wouldn't do this again he had said that it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him during his stay.
Saruman nodded and an Orc came forward and looked Fred in the eye. She didn't return the glare, she was too concerned about the long whip he was holding in his hands and showing off to her. He unfolded the whip and laid it out in front of him and whipped the ground showing off what he was capable of doing.
He then turned away and walked behind her. She felt so nervous, she didn't know what it would feel like but she guessed it would be more painful than losing her eye. She hoped it would be over quickly and they wouldn't do the same as they had done with David. Just as she thought that maybe Saruman had changed his mind and was not going to hurt her she heard the crack of the whip from behind her and a split second later she felt the burning sensation running along her back. She couldn't believe how painful it was. She was forced to scream out loud hoping it would relieve some of the intense pain that surged through her body.
Before she had time to think about what was happening the noise came again and once more the burning hit her back. This happened again and again until she could no longer stand up straight. She leaned down on the ropes that were holding her upright and tried to think about other things. It was impossible. After about twenty hits of the whip it finally stopped. She looked up at the sky and found that it was black; it was either because she had been there so long that it was getting dark or she was fading into unconsciousness. She hoped it was the latter; she didn't want to be awake to suffer any more.
As she fell asleep she felt someone letting her down and slinging her over their shoulder. The motion of movement allowed her to fall into a dark place that she both loved and hated.
Saruman watched the whipping with a smile on his face, he loved to see people suffer but to hear Fred scream like that was the best thing he had ever heard. She had been trying so hard to be brave no matter what happened to her but he had finally gotten past that and he was so pleased that he got a little carried away with the whipping. The fact that David was shouting at him to stop hurting her only encouraged him to do it more. Making two people suffer at the same time was a bonus.
When he saw that Fred could no longer stand up he called off the huge Orc that was whipping her and instructed one of his Orcs to take her back to the cell where she would be chained against the wall. He wanted to make her suffer.
"And not for you David." He said when Fred was back inside the tower. "What can I do to make you suffer? It is a very grave offence trying to escape."
"There is nothing you could do to me that I haven't already suffered." He spat back.
Saruman smiled but said nothing. He turned away and the Orc led David back into the tower. He didn't understand what was happening. He had thought that Saruman had wanted to teach him a lesson but no punishment came. Perhaps he had done enough to Fred to redeem them both. This was not a comfort to David and he didn't like the thought that Fred had taken both her punishment and his.
When they reached the cell the Orc hit him hard in the stomach, he doubled over and the Orc kicked him into the cell. For a minute David didn't move. He couldn't move. When he did he looked up and found an unconscious Fred chained to the wall. She looked awful, for the first time he noticed that she looked like she had been tortured, something she had managed to hide well over the past few days.
David wanted to help her, to get her down from the chains and at least make her more comfortable but he knew there was no way he could break the chains. He decided that he had to do something for her, even just holding her hand might help. He went to move forward but he was stopped by something holding him back. For the first time he realised that he had a chain on his foot stopping him from getting too close to Fred.
He hadn't realised that the Orc had put it on him but he was so confused and angry about what they did to Fred that he hadn't noticed much. He realised that this was his torture. Being so close to someone he loved but not being able to help them. All he wanted to do was to get her out of those chains.
He just realised what he had said. "Love." He hadn't realised he had loved her but now he thought it, it made sense to him. He hadn't known her for long and they came from two different worlds, literally, and yet he was in love with her. He couldn't understand it. He had met many women both in the prison and on the outside but he had never felt like this before. His confession of love made it even harder to not be able to help her. He reached out his hand hoping at least be able to touch her but found that he was still a few inches too far away.
Fred didn't stir even when he called her name. He decided that there was nothing he could do so it would be best just to leave her; after all she was probably peaceful where she was. He didn't know how wrong he was. Fred was far from peaceful. Awful images came back to her and haunted her dreams. She could sense David close by but could not reach him. This was a new and terrifying form of torture for her.
Ch 25 Escape and capture
Fred leaned her back against David, she was beginning to feel like she was going to be alright although there was still a feeling of dread every time an Orc came in and took her to the torture room. She didn't know why but she hadn't been as affected by the torture over the past few hours, maybe she was just getting immune to it or no longer cared about what happened to her. She felt safe with David and was actually pleased whenever they threw her back into the cell.
Saruman no longer terrified her as he had done before but she still hated it when she had to look into those dark and stormy eyes. David had explained that he had felt the same way for some time. Although he had never really been pressured into looking at Saruman. He found that the Wizard had no time for him any more. It was fine with him; he had no desire to come face to face with such a powerful man. In truth he didn't know how Fred could do it and not tell him everything he wanted to know. He didn't know whether to ask her about it or not mention it. He knew from experience that torture was not something you openly discussed. Mostly because other people didn't want to hear about what might happen to them.
Fred could tell that there was something wrong with David. She sat up and turned to face him, ever since their kiss earlier that day they had grown closer and could almost read each other's thoughts.
"Is something wrong? Apart from the obvious I mean."
"No nothing. I was just thinking."
"I haven't been here long but I've discovered that doing too much thinking, especially remembering is bad for you."
"You are right, of course." He almost laughed at her knowledge and advice. She had been here only a few days and already she had begun to understand the workings of the prison.
"Were you thinking about anything in particular or just general stuff that you don't want to tell me about?"
"Mostly general 'stuff'. I was thinking about you."
"Me?"
"Why do you find that so surprising?"
"I just didn't know you would think about me."
He laughed once again and leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I was just thinking how brave you were. I mean you don't deserve to be here and yet you never complain. I admire it."
"Admire? Wow. I'm not the only one that's suffering you know, you have been here longer than me and have probably been through more than me. I mean the worst thing that has happened to me was the eye thing. Come on what's the worst that's happened to you?" She instantly regretted saying this when she looked at David's face. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." She apologised.
"It is alright. You have been honest with me and now it's my turn. The worst thing that has happened to me." He pretended to be thinking but she knew he was deciding whether he should tell her or not. "It happened when I first came here. One of the Orcs, who I later killed by the way, strung me up outside the tower for a few hours. It didn't seem too bad at the time, quite painless really. Then he came back and whipped me. Time and time again. He left me for two days out in the freezing cold and came back and whipped me again and repeated the whole thing for almost two weeks.
"Two weeks without food or water, apart from the rain, and him whipping me every two days. That was the worst thing that has happened to me. When he finally released me I could hardly stand up and when I did it hurt so much that I fell back down.
"I went back to my cell and cried in the corner for days and waited for the pain to leave, I learned to ignore it after a while. I ate their poor excuse for food and gained enough strength to try and escape but unfortunately it didn't work, obviously."
Fred didn't know what to say. She had never seen him be so honest before and she almost wished that he hadn't told her everything, now this man who she had thought to be strong and brave was actually just as scared as she was.
"That's not what you wanted to hear was it?" He asked pulling her close.
"I just.I didn't know."
"How could you? What about you? I told you everything about my first session. What about yours? Now we're telling secrets."
"The first day I realised I was here I was too terrified to do anything. I curled up in the corner and tried to push the terrible things out of my mind. I was in a cell smaller than this one with skeletons all around it. I had never seen anything like it before and I was a little overwhelmed. So I did nothing and tried to pretend that I wasn't really here. I wish I could do that now.
"The first torture I got was an Orc delivering my food. It was poisoned and had some kind of drug in it that made me see terrible things. I can't remember many of them now but I remember being too scared to move. When I woke up they were gone but I was faced with Saruman. That's when I saw you for the first time, with the pokers." She smiled.
"You didn't have to do that you know. I was trying to help you."
"I couldn't let you suffer could I? Besides you didn't deserve it and shouldn't have offered either. You don't see me messing around with your torture do you?" She smiled and he couldn't help but laugh at her attempt at humour.
He hugged her tighter and thought about what she might have looked like so scared. He couldn't imagine what seeing all those things was like, he had never experience it himself but he guessed it was pretty bad. He was sure that Fred did remember what she had seen but he couldn't blame her for not wanting to mention it.
"How is your eye?" He asked trying to break the uneasy silence that no lingered between them.
"It is better. It still hurts. But it is all beginning to blend together now." She smiled at him letting him know that she didn't mind talking about it.
He nodded at her and began stroking her hair. He felt her tense when she heard a sound, something many of the prisoners did not matter how long they had been there.
"What? Is something wrong?" He asked as she sat up.
"Someone's coming." She said simply and stood up as if it would offer her some kind of protection. "Now's our chance." David didn't know what this meant and he didn't have time to ask because the Orc came storming in mumbling something in his evil tongue.
The Orc placed some water on the floor in a small metal tin and a tin of what could be described as food. Fred stood near the door and David realised that she was getting closer and closer and suddenly he understood what she was doing. He couldn't believe she was actually going to try it after all his failed attempts but before he could do anything she had slammed the door shut but left a small gap so she could open it again easily. The Orc swung round just in time to see her do it and while his attention was off David the strong man was on his back and had him on the floor.
David punched him repeatedly in the face until the Orc began to lose consciousness.
"Wait." Fred shouted. David instantly stopped although he didn't know why. "Keys." Fred said simply.
"Where are the keys?" He shouted at the semi-conscious Orc. He knew they didn't have time to stay too long.
The Orc didn't waste much time in handing over the keys to David who was still on top of him holding him down. David snatched the keys and knocked the Orc out before he could make any noise.
Fred opened the door a little more when David was at her side. She looked out to find the coast was clear. She saw that there was nothing in the corridor and opened the door a little further. Before she could run out she felt David gently but firmly grab her arm and pull her back slightly.
"This is crazy you know." David said in a hushed voice.
"I know. We have to try. I am not just going to sit here and wait for something to happen. Your attempts might have failed but mine won't. Are you coming or not?" She said having very little patience. He nodded and walked out into the corridor with her.
She ran through as if not concerned about whether she ran into any Orcs or not but he was sure she knew something that he didn't otherwise she wouldn't be so confident. He followed close behind her and tried not to make any noise. She turned around and smiled at his effort.
"Don't worry. Orcs don't come down here unless they absolutely have to and even then it's only slaves, they wouldn't be too strong. I'd save your stealth techniques for when we get closer to the exit." He smiled at her and relaxed slightly.
They walked through the corridors and from the confidence Fred walked with he guessed she had been down here before although he decided it best not to question her, she seemed to be enjoying her freedom but he had been like that once and gotten caught. He hoped that wouldn't happen this time, he didn't want to see her get hurt plus the thought of being outside Orthanc for the first time in years rather appealed to him.
Fred opened a large door with one of the keys from the big chain she had got from the Orc that was lying unconscious in their cell. She turned the key in the lock and confidently opened the door. When she did she wished she hadn't been so confident and been a little more cautious when opening the door. On the other side of the door there were a gang of Orcs beating up a man who had chains tied to his legs and rope around his body making sure his arms couldn't move. Fred stood frozen for a minute, as did the Orcs on the other side. The man they were beating also looked up and stared at them for a brief second there was a hint of anger on his face.
Fred suddenly snapped into action and pulled the door shut just as the Orcs leaped towards her. She heard them slam against the door and try and break it down. She quickly relocked the door and ran out of the way. She didn't want to be anywhere near them when they finally broke through. She was no longer relaxed and she ran as fast as she could. David kept up with her as they raced through corridors and down steps.
After what seemed an eternity Fred and David came to the ground floor of the tower, surprisingly there were no Orcs waiting for them but neither had time to think about it, they ran through the small hall and towards the door. David was becoming more and more nervous; he didn't like the fact that Orthanc was so deserted. There was something very wrong, he wanted to warn Fred but he was too out of breath.
Fred rushed through the door she knew led to the outside. She was quickly followed by David. Both of them stopped suddenly when they saw what awaited them. There were Orcs, hundreds of Orcs. They were all lined up and dressed in battle gear; they were obviously waiting for Fred and David. They couldn't believe it, they had been so close, they had set foot out of Orthanc. They knew there was no way they could escape now so they put their hands on their heads and waited for something to happen.
Saruman walked up the never-ending steps and stood in front of them.
"Do you like your welcoming party?" He said slyly.
Fred had to use all her will power not to hit out at him; she knew she would be dead before she could do anything. She said nothing and Saruman signalled for one of the Orcs standing close by to take them away.
"Take her to the courtyard and leave her there for a few hours out in the freezing rain, we'll see if she tried to escape again. As for him.take him back to the dungeon, he is no use to me."
"No." David screamed. He wanted to help Fred but there was nothing he could do. Saruman smiled evilly at him knowing exactly what to do to upset the man. He would hurt what he loved most in the prison, Fred. He didn't want to have to hurt her, secretly he wanted her for himself but knew she had a greater purpose. It hadn't surprised him when they had tried to escape. It was just one more failed escape attempt to add to David's list.
He signalled to his guards to garb David but they didn't take him anywhere. The held him tightly so he had to watch what was going to happen to Fred.
"You remember how this works, don't you David? I tie her up and whip her. It is an old but effective punishment."
"You still need her. You're not going to hurt her."
"Do you think she needs to be able to walk to talk to me? How foolish." He smiled.
The two Orcs that had been holding Fred dragged her to a strange looking wooden contraption. She didn't know what it was called but she remembered what it was used for. David had described it earlier and now she regretted asking about it. She knew they were going to torture her but she didn't know what they wanted. She tried to struggle but she knew there was no way she could escape with half of Saruman's army watching her. There would be no point.
The Orcs tied her to the wooden torture block and stood back awaiting their master's orders.
"Tell me Fred did you really think you could escape?" He laughed and it sent a wave of nausea through her. She hadn't realised she would be punished like this if they got caught. She wondered what they would do to David. She hoped they wouldn't do this again he had said that it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him during his stay.
Saruman nodded and an Orc came forward and looked Fred in the eye. She didn't return the glare, she was too concerned about the long whip he was holding in his hands and showing off to her. He unfolded the whip and laid it out in front of him and whipped the ground showing off what he was capable of doing.
He then turned away and walked behind her. She felt so nervous, she didn't know what it would feel like but she guessed it would be more painful than losing her eye. She hoped it would be over quickly and they wouldn't do the same as they had done with David. Just as she thought that maybe Saruman had changed his mind and was not going to hurt her she heard the crack of the whip from behind her and a split second later she felt the burning sensation running along her back. She couldn't believe how painful it was. She was forced to scream out loud hoping it would relieve some of the intense pain that surged through her body.
Before she had time to think about what was happening the noise came again and once more the burning hit her back. This happened again and again until she could no longer stand up straight. She leaned down on the ropes that were holding her upright and tried to think about other things. It was impossible. After about twenty hits of the whip it finally stopped. She looked up at the sky and found that it was black; it was either because she had been there so long that it was getting dark or she was fading into unconsciousness. She hoped it was the latter; she didn't want to be awake to suffer any more.
As she fell asleep she felt someone letting her down and slinging her over their shoulder. The motion of movement allowed her to fall into a dark place that she both loved and hated.
Saruman watched the whipping with a smile on his face, he loved to see people suffer but to hear Fred scream like that was the best thing he had ever heard. She had been trying so hard to be brave no matter what happened to her but he had finally gotten past that and he was so pleased that he got a little carried away with the whipping. The fact that David was shouting at him to stop hurting her only encouraged him to do it more. Making two people suffer at the same time was a bonus.
When he saw that Fred could no longer stand up he called off the huge Orc that was whipping her and instructed one of his Orcs to take her back to the cell where she would be chained against the wall. He wanted to make her suffer.
"And not for you David." He said when Fred was back inside the tower. "What can I do to make you suffer? It is a very grave offence trying to escape."
"There is nothing you could do to me that I haven't already suffered." He spat back.
Saruman smiled but said nothing. He turned away and the Orc led David back into the tower. He didn't understand what was happening. He had thought that Saruman had wanted to teach him a lesson but no punishment came. Perhaps he had done enough to Fred to redeem them both. This was not a comfort to David and he didn't like the thought that Fred had taken both her punishment and his.
When they reached the cell the Orc hit him hard in the stomach, he doubled over and the Orc kicked him into the cell. For a minute David didn't move. He couldn't move. When he did he looked up and found an unconscious Fred chained to the wall. She looked awful, for the first time he noticed that she looked like she had been tortured, something she had managed to hide well over the past few days.
David wanted to help her, to get her down from the chains and at least make her more comfortable but he knew there was no way he could break the chains. He decided that he had to do something for her, even just holding her hand might help. He went to move forward but he was stopped by something holding him back. For the first time he realised that he had a chain on his foot stopping him from getting too close to Fred.
He hadn't realised that the Orc had put it on him but he was so confused and angry about what they did to Fred that he hadn't noticed much. He realised that this was his torture. Being so close to someone he loved but not being able to help them. All he wanted to do was to get her out of those chains.
He just realised what he had said. "Love." He hadn't realised he had loved her but now he thought it, it made sense to him. He hadn't known her for long and they came from two different worlds, literally, and yet he was in love with her. He couldn't understand it. He had met many women both in the prison and on the outside but he had never felt like this before. His confession of love made it even harder to not be able to help her. He reached out his hand hoping at least be able to touch her but found that he was still a few inches too far away.
Fred didn't stir even when he called her name. He decided that there was nothing he could do so it would be best just to leave her; after all she was probably peaceful where she was. He didn't know how wrong he was. Fred was far from peaceful. Awful images came back to her and haunted her dreams. She could sense David close by but could not reach him. This was a new and terrifying form of torture for her.