@Gwyn : How did you know that? That is exactly what Kel is going to do! (read : stupid)
@Szhismine : Argh!! Get off me! Get off me! No parley for you! Besides, you're not a pirate! What is Dior gonna do to Leggy? Come on! If he's in the hands of a crazy author like me, what do you think his fate gonna be? Can't you even guess?
@Volcanic Plug : I love the TTT extended version, but I just got the vhs, and it's still great even though the vhs did not have the extra special features like a dvd. You won't get disappointed. So, just wait for it spring out of your cupboard on x-mas! And I'm sorry. I don't have the note from my doctor anymore. My pet tiger ate it!
@ElizabethBlack : It is the author's secret, mellon. Author's secret.
@Karina : Linden is always in a tight spot where the royal family is concern, right? Ha! Ha! Poor elven commander! I should provide him with a wife or a girlfriend or something! Yes, precious. The rate will get higher soon!
@miekje : I got most of my ideas from my dreams. Yep. I got lots of freaky creepy dreams! All thanks to watching too many gory tv series and movies! (CSI Miami is one of them!) More often than not, I got my inspiration from the world events and tragedies that were on the news, or just by looking at the people around me.
@Pokethe Penguin : It will be around 8 to 9 chapters.
@MysticalWoodElf : Thank god you finally took my advice! Now be prepared. The next chapter is going to be a very wild ride!
@LOTRfaith : I prefer 'eviscerated' than 'disemboweled' because it sounds more evil. Muahahaha!
@Young Storyteller : You won't believe this, but I only got the vhs, not the dvd. And of course, there are no special features! Grrr! So I'm thinking of getting the dvd too. (You are working at Petronas northbound Ayer Keroh, hmm? I might see you because we plan to visit my uncle there in Melaka. He lives in Jasin. I will celebrate Hari Raya in Jelebu N.S, my father's kampong. And same to you mellon. Minta maaf kalau-kalau ada terlebih cliffie atau angst atau sebagainya. Halalkan semua review yg diberi selama ini. Jangan makan rendang terlebih sangat! Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin.)
@Kawaii ningen kitsune : No, he can't. Sorry. (Did I say sorry? I take it back. ^_^)
@Alkvingiel : You are lucky you don't have to take math next year. But I have to take math everyday! I mean, my life revolves around financial and accounts so I am buried under numbers practically every second!
@ElvenEyes : Now I remember Sundiata! Did you two forgot to kiss and make up like I told you to? No wonder you lost each other.
@Hobbit Hugger : Yes, I would. But not on his purdy face.
@layla146 : Yes, girl. I got more angst up my sleeve. Be warned.
@Kayo : Mellon, you are so bloodthirsty! The next torture scene is especially for YOU!
@Aredhe1314 : Your wish is my command, mellon!
@Aranel of Mirkwood : Err…well…have fun with the ferret!
@Fire Breathing Ferret : As far as I know, paracetamol and carbonated drink is the deadliest combination ever!
@Luindae : Another avid 'fan' of my cliffie. Yay!
WARNING : This chapter is R-rated. I repeat, this chapter is R-rated. Leggy torture and angst! Read it or leave it! I won't be responsible for any heart failure or queasiness!
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Legolas gulped anxiously as he felt the cold steel on his skin, drawing blood. "Look, Dior…"
"No, you look!" Dior yelled, glowering down at his cousin. "My life has been a nightmare and I want you to pay! If not for that pack of marauders coming to my rescue, I would have roamed the Hall of Mandos by now and have fun hounding your mother!"
Legolas exploded. He snarled and trashed against his bonds to get at Dior, which was a useless feat, causing Dior to laugh in amusement. "Yes, your mother, dear cousin! And I have learned many ways to do it slowly and painfully. The marauders eventually took me in as one of them. I found out later that the clan that had attacked us was their sworn enemy. Anyway, those people had taught me the skill of combat, the art of killing and everything else needed to survive on this earth. I've become an assassin, a mercenary, for many long years. I enjoy it immensely. Still, my past is still annoying me so I have come back here to rid myself of it!"
"You are crazy, Dior!" Legolas screamed. "Why must you kill Luthwen and her family? They are innocents! And you tried to kill my father too, didn't you?!"
Dior laughed out loud. "Guilty as charged, cousin! Guilty as charged!" He stared hard at the immobile prince. "Looks like he's still alive, isn't he? You and your blasted manyan gift! You had healed him from the poison. I should have killed you first!"
"Then just kill me and be done with it!"
"Oh, I will, Legolas! I certainly will!" Dior exclaimed. "That is my intention. You will die in the end. But I'd rather have fun with you first."
Legolas looked on anxiously when Dior lifted a damp cloth for him to see. "What are you doing?"
"Remember how it felt when you were drowning in the stream that day?" Dior asked instead. He lifted his other hand and showed Legolas a big waterskin he was carrying. "Care to go through it all again?"
Legolas opened his mouth to say something but Dior quickly put the cloth over the prince's face, completely covering his vision. Legolas had trouble breathing already. "Dior," he gasped. "Stop this! You are…!"
Without warning, a splash of water hit him fully, running into his nose and mouth. The damp cloth grew heavy and suffocating. Legolas choked and gagged as his breathing was cut off. He frantically shook his head left and right but the confining cloth would not budge.
As if from afar, Legolas could hear Dior asking, "Want some more?"
Legolas panicked. No! I'm drowning! The next thing he knew, more water was poured onto his face.
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Keldarion stared at the tree where the guards had found Felagund and Daerion tied to. Blood was everywhere; on the ground, on the bark and on the leaves. The signature of the killer that had murdered Laiél and his family were all there for them to see.
The prince shivered. He greatly feared for his brother's fate. Where are you, brat? How do you fare?
Accompanied by Commander Linden and a troop of woodland patrol, Keldarion went on to trace Legolas' whereabouts, thinking that the killer might have not taken his captive very far from the area. Several hours later, very close to midnight, they still had found nothing. The killer was efficient it seemed. He had taken Legolas into hiding after completely covering his tracks.
Keldarion had been silent throughout the night. His earlier panic and anxiety had now turned into an overwhelmingly blinding fury that he nearly shook from it.
"Your highness?" Linden gazed at the stoic expression on Keldarion's features and slightly shivered when he saw how similar the prince looked to Oropher, his late grandfather.
Keldarion turned his head slowly to the commander. "Still no trace?"
Linden shook his head. "None. The killer is good."
Clenching his fists around the mane of his mount, Keldarion's face hardened. "But he's not perfect. He makes mistakes. He must have left something!"
"But we have checked this area very thoroughly more than three times, your highness."
"You want us to quit now?!" Keldarion snapped back at the elder elf.
The commander was not offended by the prince's harsh tone. He fully understood what Keldarion was going through. Legolas was like Linden's own son and the commander would do anything to get him back. "I suggested we retrace the horses' prints instead of looking for the killer's. They might lead us somewhere near your brother."
Sighing heavily, Keldarion ran a hand down his tired face. "Forgive me, Linden. I wasn't thinking straight."
Linden slightly smiled. "I understand."
"Still, our warriors have followed those horses track, haven't they? Surely they should have found something unusual?"
"They had been following Felagund and Daerion's mounts, your highness, not Prince Legolas'. That was how they had found your brother's guardians strung up on that tree," Linden explained. "As expected, your brother had escaped their eyes and rode on by himself."
Keldarion's eyes brightened a bit. "Then we only have to find the tracks of Legolas' stallion to find out where he went to."
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Legolas' struggles were weakening as his strength waned. He couldn't breathe or scream for Dior to stop. He had swallowed handfuls of water, and more was running down the back of his nose. His cousin was laughing gleefully, truly enjoying tormenting the prince.
When Legolas thought that Dior would keep it going forever, the water stopped coming. Yet, the damp cloth was still lying on his face, suffocating him.
"Ah, that was fun!" Dior chuckled. He suddenly swiped the cloth away and grinned to see Legolas' white stricken face. The prince instantly took deep breaths, coughing and gasping desperately for fresh air.
"So sorry to make you all wet, cousin," Dior said with a sneer. "I'm afraid I'm going to soak you again. This time, with your own blood."
"D…Dior…" Legolas panted, gazing up at his cousin with pain-filled eyes. "Stop this…you had your revenge…enough…"
"It's not enough!" Dior shouted. "Not until you're dead! And before you go, I want you to feel the pain that I've gone through! Then we'll be even."
"You…are crazy…"
"Why, thank you, Legolas. What a nice compliment." Dior took out his dagger and began to tear at Legolas' tunic. Not long after, Legolas' upper body lay exposed to his cousin's cruel gaze.
Dior tilted his head as he pondered. "Hmmm. Too smooth," he said, touching the flat pane of Legolas' bare stomach. " How about some…what did you call it just now? Decorations?"
Legolas yelped when the dagger slashed against his belly button. Dior slashed again, creating an X on the prince's abdomen. Fresh blood instantly spewed forth from the cuts. Dior smiled appreciatively and moved on to Legolas' chest. By then, the prince had started cursing and swearing at him but Dior didn't care. He continued on with his work, making more X's on Legolas' palms and under his feet after taking off both the prince's boots.
"Why are you doing this, Dior? Stop toying with me!" Legolas demanded, cringing in agony as his blood dropped off the slate onto the floor.
Dior was smiling wide. He then placed the tip of his dagger close to Legolas' crotch. "You know I've castrated Laiél. Would you like me to do the same the thing to you? It will be a great pleasure to me."
"Kel and my father will kill you if you do, Dior!" Legolas responded hotly. "They will be hunting you to your grave!"
"And I'll be waiting!" Dior shouted back. "Better yet, I'll make them come looking for you here so you can watch me kill them both, how about that?!"
Legolas turned a whiter shade of pale. "No, Dior, don't. If it's me that you want then leave them out of this."
Dior chortled. "We'll see, cousin. We'll see." He was tearing his blade through the waistband of Legolas' leggings when the sound of a horse's neighing echoed throughout the cave. The elf sighed in exasperation. "That evil-tempered stallion of yours has been giving me a headache! I ought to have killed him or let him loose like the other two in the first place but he is too much of a magnificent animal to be wasted!"
Legolas was relieved when his cousin moved away from him, taking the dagger along.
"Excuse me. I have to leave you for awhile to take care of that horse," Dior was saying as he snatched Legolas' torn tunic from the ground. "In the meantime, feel free to scream as much as you want but, sadly to say, no one is going to hear you." With that, he stuffed the tunic into Legolas' mouth and placed another strip over it, tying the ends behind his cousin's head.
Legolas' eyes were blazing furiously as glared at Dior, growling incoherently through his gag. Dior just laughed in amusement. "Don't worry, cousin. I'll be right back."
On his way out, Dior took the torch from the wall. "I believe you won't be needing this, little prince. I heard that you 'like' the dark. It will be like inside the closet, don't you think? And this time, I even leave you our little friends for company." Dior glanced meaningfully at the bats clinging at the ceiling above them. "Do you know that those kinds of bats devour blood? See? They have scented yours already!"
Laughing cynically, Dior left. And Legolas was instantly shrouded with pitch darkness.
The glinting red glares of the bats' eyes were getting brighter as they stared hungrily at the bound prince.
TBC…