Hi everyone. Thank you all for your very supporting reviews and here is another chapter for you. Hope you like it.
Chapter 4: Drowning in You
To Legolas it felt like weeks since he had been severely whipped, but he knew that it couldn't be any more than a day or two. He had managed to crawl to the nearest corner of the small room and prop himself up against the wall, leaving his back free. His wounds had eventually stopped bleeding and his back now felt stiff tight where scars and scabs had begun to heal the cuts. The pain had eased but any movement still caused him to wince in pain. His mouth was dry and he desperately wanted some water.
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Araduial was sat alone. She had been for the last few days and she was so worried about Legolas. Several times she gathered her few things and prepared to set off the where she knew he would be, but at the last minute she realised that she would only make everything so much worse. Legolas wouldn't let her give herself up and even when Gayatil had her back; he probably wouldn't let Legolas go anyway.
She was still torn between what to do. Her heart constantly ached for Legolas. What would he be going through? How would he cope? She hated herself so much. After years of keeping all this a secret it had been such a relief so finally tell someone, but she had only put Legolas in danger too. She should have just gone without letting anyone know. That way no one would get hurt but herself. She had been so selfish, thinking only of herself.
The love that she felt for Legolas hurt her so much. When she thought of what she had done to him the guilt almost became too much. He loved her so much yet all she had ever done was hurt him. She couldn't cope with this any longer. It was driving her mad. The love she had for him was suffocating her.
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It wasn't long before Gayatil was back. The waiting had only been meant to torture Legolas further, not knowing what was coming. The same two guards had been sent to fetch Legolas and as before they pulled them along with them to his destination.
Legolas was pushed into a large room. He stood shakily in the centre, his clothes, hard with dried blood, still hanging around his waist. One of the guards came up behind him and kicked the back of his legs causing him to fall painfully to his knees. He then walked around to the front of him and untied the ropes from round his wrists. With a vast amount of speed and efficiency, Legolas hands were dragged around to his back and secured tightly. As the job was being finished a door opened in front of them and in walked Gayatil. The dim light in the room caused dark shadows to dance across his face, highlighting his handsome features. He stood in front of Legolas looking down at him.
"Are you willing to tell me what I want to know yet?" Gayatil sounded impatient.
"Never!" Legolas spat the word back at him.
"Very well..." He motioned once more to the guards and they dragged Legolas to what looked like a huge basin of water. They knelt him in front of it.
Legolas looked down into the water and he could see his reflection against the dark bottom. His eyes looked dark and tired and his hair hung in tangled knots about his shoulders.
Without warning a hand was placed on the back of Legolas' head and it was forced down into the water. Legolas had guessed what was going to happen to immediately took a gasp of air. His head was plunged into the icy cold water. It rushed up his nose and into his eyes. He closed them tightly and hoped he wouldn't have to stay under for too long. The coldness of the water caused his body to begin to shake and the side of the basin was pressing painfully into his chest. He had to get up. The breath he had taken wasn't enough and he needed more air. He turned his head hoping to escape the hand but only succeeded in letting a few more bubbles escape from his lips. Finally he let go of his breath, unable to hold it any longer. At the same time the hand grabbed hold of his hair, pulling his head out of the water.
The cold air hit him as he gasped for much needed oxygen. He felt it rush back into his lungs and his head began to clear. He closed his eyes against the pain in his chest. He gulped down the air.
Before he realised what was going on and before he had had time to recover, his head was forced back into the icy water. Once again it surrounded him but this time he hadn't taken a breath before hand. He thrashed about trying to free himself but not succeeding. His hands tied uselessly behind his back tried desperately to find something to grab onto. He found nothing and vision began to blur. He needed air and he felt as though he was slowly drifting off to sleep.
At last his head was pulled from the water. Once again he gasped in the air. As he did so he noticed Gayatil smiling. He was stood directly in front of him watching the whole thing. Legolas' eyes showed the hatred he felt and he stared angrily at him as his head was once again pushed back into the cold water.
This continued for what seemed like hours until at last his head was pulled up and Gayatil walked over to him.
"So?" He said looking pleased with himself. "Where is Araduial?"
"Is this the best you can Gayatil?" Legolas gasped. "It will take more than this to make me tell you."
The smile vanished from Gayatil's face and you stood up taking a step back. "You are strong Legolas." He finally spoke. "I thought you would have given in by now. But don't worry, there is still plenty more yet. You will tell me before I have finished with you." Turning to his guards he added. "I think Legolas enjoys this. I must be going now but have some fun while I am away." With that he walked from the room as Legolas' head was once more plunged into the water.
Whether the guards actually enjoyed it or not didn't matter. They knew that Gayatil expected them to continue so that was what they did. Legolas was beginning to become light headed. His head was being held under for longer and longer periods of time with only a few seconds out. Just when he thought he would pass out his head would be dragged up again, just long enough for the swirling patterns in front of his eyes to disappear, and then he would be forced back down again.
This was repeated several times after Gayatil left and Legolas was getting tired. Without warning his head was released and he was being dragged backwards. They were at last taking him back. They stood him up but his legs refused to obey. They gave ways beneath him. His hands hung limply behind his back. Realising that Legolas wasn't doing this on purpose, the two guards took hold of him and carried him to his cell.
They placed him down at the door and held him up vertically. Then they forcefully pushed him inside and shut the door behind him.
Legolas could do nothing to stop himself falling forward. His feet were still tied, as were his hands behind his back. His body gave in and although he tried to free his hands to stop his fall he couldn't. He hit the floor with a loud thud. His chest took most of the impact but he couldn't stop his face from hitting the floor. His whole body reeled as his cheekbone came into contact with the cold hard ground.
The air was taken from his body as he lay on the floor. His wet hair surrounded his face. His cheek was burning with the pain and his breathing came in short ragged gaps. Blood began to poor from his cheek, forming a small puddle around his face but he didn't have the strength to move away from it. Tears began to flow from his eyes, mixing with the blood. He gave in.
Legolas lay on the floor praying for the darkness to take him over. It wasn't long before it did and Legolas was at peace in his dreams.
Michelle Frodo: Hmm, glad you are enjoying the torturing, I think! There will be much more to come so don't stop reading just yet. And as for your 'question', there were 3 elves but they were kneeling on his back so that would actually give you six lead weights. The other elf only had one leg so that was why you got five. No, I'm only joking. I meant to write six but wrote five and thank you very much for pointing that out for everyone. Much appreciated.
~Amariel~ : Glad to here that Orli like my story and you can tell him that I am very much looking forward to Ned Kelly. Oh, and Legolas, I'm sorry I hurt you but you are a very strong character whom has won the hearts of many fans and you fit into so many story lines so well. And Amariel, thank you very much for amusing reviews at each chapter. They make me want to carry on writing. Thank you.
Arwen Undomiel: Woohoo! You finally came to review my story. Thank you and I'm sorry for hurting Legolas. I'll put him back when I've finished. I love him really.
VladimirsAngel: Glad you are enjoying it and although there are hundreds of Legolas fans out there, many of them seem to enjoy reading Elf torture. I think it just shows how much of a strong character he is. Anyway, please keep reading and thank you for your reviews.