CHAPTER 16 - Treachery
The prince stared at his reflection silently. The creature staring back at him was so unlike any version of himself Legolas could ever have imagined.
He was dressed in brown leather leggings that clung to his skin, and a dark tunic, made of the same material as the leggings. Around his shoulders hung a long black cape, trailing down to the floor. His blond tresses, still not brushed and raster like with the hair of the dead orc woven in to the plaits, pulled viciously back so that half his hair was in a ponytail and the other half hung loosely in the style of an orc. By his side was a long scimitar, the same as those the orcs bore.
Urshak put an arm around his youngest brother and grinned widely.
"Just like me," he laughed, "An' I'll make sure yew think like me too. Whaddaya think of Thranduil?"
Legolas turned to look at the orc.
"He is a great and wise king," said the prince.
"Same answer as yer two brothers then. Thought as much. Whadaya think of him as a daddy?"
The young prince opened his mouth to answer, and then shut it again. Memories of all the times he had been punished came flooding back, unsummoned. The lectures. The angry red face about to burst a blood vessel. The raised voice. Now came back the memories of all the times something had been forbidden to him, like watching Oroweth and Astaler ride out on hunting parties and with the warriors when he was refused the privalige. All the times Thranduil had hidden something from himself and his siblings came back.
"No answer?"
Legolas looked away, newly angry with the king but ashamed at himself for thinking as he was.
The orc captain grin widened, his rotten fangs showing. He nodded, satisfied.
"Took me a while to realise he was the enemy too,"
"My father is not the enemy!"
"No? Sent any search parties after yew? Nope. Still got two left hasn't he? Course, it ain't their fault. They'll be with us soon. Cute ain't she, you little sister?"
Legolas swallowed, thinking about Nilwethion and Calensil. When was the last time he had thought of them? Too long. Again the prince felt ashamed of himself. He looked back up at the bronze mirror.
"I suppose yew'll be wanting to see yer brothers then?"
The elf nodded.
"They've seen the light too, y'know. Or the dark, depending on how yew see it," he laughed loudly, and Legolas found himself, much to his disgust, understanding the joke and finding it funny, in a twisted sort of way. Two orcs who had been standing by a large iron door pulled it open and bowed.
"Through 'ere," said one, and then hastily added, "Sir,"
"That's Girshund. 'E's a young 'un. Gonna take a bit o' getting used to having an elf cap'n," commented Urshak as the two passed through the door. Legolas shivered as he remembered his rank and looked back at the yellow eyes of the two staring orcs.
"Legolas!" The prince snapped his head around as he recognised the voice of Astaler.
Astaler and Nuryávië were lounging in a long room on two plain, iron beds covered with a few sheets and straw mattresses. In a second, the two princes had leapt over to their younger brother and wrapped him up quickly in an embrace. They bowed quickly to Urshak, and then pulled their attention back to Legolas.
"We are so glad you have joined us!"
"We thought you were going to pick the hard way!"
Legolas looked at his two brothers strangely, as if for the first time, and saw Astaler and Nuryávië in a new light.
They were both clad in exactly the same clothes as he was, their hair styled in the same way and the same weapons hung menacingly at their sides, though there was something different about them. Something altogether too, well, evil.
"I'll be leavin' yew to talk for an hour, but don't expect to get any longer 'n that. I've got a mission for yew. Shame yer brothers' chose the hard route, but that's their fault. I'll be seeing yew later,"
Astaler and Nuryávië bowed to Urshak as the orc left the room, shutting the door behind them. Legolas turned back to the two brothers.
"You . . .you have embraced the shadows?"
"No!" hissed Astaler, "Keep quiet, else they may hear us. Of course not you fool, although I do not know what to think of adar any more. I think I hate him, although I know I should not. We both do, though we are not evil like Neldoreth has become. We are only pretending to have changed sides. It may be our only hope of escape."
Legolas breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly foolish that he had ever doubted his brothers. He flopped down on to one of the hard beds.
"At least there is lots of light in here," he laughed. The other two sat down next to him.
"At least," agreed Nuryávië, "Did you know we are allowed to go wherever we please now that we are 'captains'?"
"We are?" gasped Legolas, "So Neldoreth trusts us that much?"
The prince shrugged.
"I suppose so. Have you seen all the . . .uh . . .art, on the walls?"
Legolas winced and nodded. Memory of the blood and bones and charcoal hanging from the walls like the tapestries in the halls of Thranduil flashed in front of his eyes.
"Shall we explore?" he asked, "Strange that we should be taken prisoner by our kin, and then given high ranks in the army of the enemy. Imagine if naneth and adar could see us now - and Nilwethion and Calensil. I hope they are alright,"
"They will be better off than we are," said Astaler, "Come, you wanted to explore,"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The king of Mirkwood was sitting bolt upright in his great throne, his wife on one side with Calensil held firmly on her knee and Nilwethion on his other side, still not completely understanding the situation. On his lap were various tokens from the orc. Legolas' dagger, Oroweth's broach from his cloak, Astalers cloak, rich with embroidery, and a couple of other small items. Around them were various counsellors and lords, including Elrond with others from Imladris and Mithrandir. On one arm of Nilwethion's throne sat Elrohir. They were all looking in the same direction - at the orc messenger before them with the two guards at his side, swords pointed at him. The orc bowed low.
"King Thranduil of Mirkwood," he began, "I bear a message from captain Urshak of the more hidden realm of Mirkwood."
The orc licked his lips, savouring the sour look on the face of the king.
"How dare you step foot in my halls?" hissed the king
The orc tutted.
"How polite you are, oh great king," his voice was mocking and sarcastic, "I much prefer your sons. Quite pleasant as elves go, when we let them stop screaming,"
Thranduil dug his fingernails in to the arms of his chair, his knuckles white. Beside him, his wife seemed confused and upset, clutching Calensil to her so tightly the princess could hardly breathe. On his other side, Nilwethion was grasping a dagger. The king glared a quick warning at his son, telling him without words not to harm the orc until the message was finished.
"What have you done to my sons?" hissed the king. The orc laughed.
"Oh I do not think daddy would like to know that. Perhaps it will be enough for him to know that they all hate you bitterly. They have come to believe that you do not care about them. They think you have deserted them in their hour of need. Needless to say, that is one of the reasons they cry out so much, even when we are not having our fun with them,"
"You lie!"
King Thranduil stood up, his face bright red, his deep maroon robes trimmed with gold crumpled but still imposing. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, desperately trying not to believe a word the orc was saying.
"I do not lie. I would offer for you to see them, but it would most likely kill a loving father. If you really are as loving of them as you are of yourself,"
"Why you . . ."
"But that is not the message. What was it now?"
The orc rubbed his temples, pretending to think. He flashed an evil grin sideways at one of the guards, who then scowled and jabbed the orc with his sword. The orc jumped back slightly in to the sword of the other guard. A spot of black blood appeared and the orc clicked his fingers.
"Why thank you for reminding me, little elfling!" cried the orc. His eyes narrowed maliciously. "We are in the process of giving the princes a meaning to life," he stopped abruptly.
"A meaning?" asked Nilwethion, light glancing off his dagger.
"Yes, little elfling, a meaning. Your dearest brothers will, after a few years, become very good officers in our army. Perfect little orcs. As will you, when we get our hands on you. Your sister also, perhaps. Although perhaps we will use her for something else. If I were the king, I would not let you out of these caves."
Nilwethion sprang up with his dagger raised to kill the orc, but Elrohir grabbed hold of his arms and dragged the prince back. The orcs eyes widened with glee when he looked at the Imladris elf struggling to get Nilwethion back under control.
"How did you escape after what we did to you, and with not a scratch?" he questioned, "Perhaps we ought to have kept you as an orc, not just a plaything . . . but wait . . ."
Elrohir and Nilwethion looked up from their struggle, realising the orc meant Elladan.
"You could not possibly have escaped. Not after our boys finished playing. I doubt they are finished yet. Not a moment of peace for our little toy. That must mean you are . . . Elrohir? Yes, the twin. Our toy cries out your name at such frequent intervals you would think he were a lover. Perhaps all elves are like you. From what I see of them, I would not know. All I know is that your lover twin is just as weak as any one of the princes, the silly, helpless little fools."
Elrohir's face contorted with pure anger and rage. He let go of Nilwethion, vaguely aware of the prince running along side him to kill the orc, but they was not the first to reach the it.
For the whole time, the queen Imlammthien had sat silently, holding Calensil tightly on her knee, but something within her had cracked. She flew at the orc, screaming wildly, knocking him over. The queen had thrown Calensil off her knee, the young princess wailing loudly as she was flung in to one of the nearby elves, but she did not take notice. Instead, Imlammthien knocked the messenger from Urshak over and began tearing at his face, arms and torso with her carefully looked after nails, ripping at his skin until the vile creature began yelling loudly.
By then, Elrohir and Nilwethion had got to the orc, their weapons drawn. As the two guards desperately pulled the queen away from the creature, the two took her place, only instead of using nails they used their daggers, treating the orc like a pincushion until black blood stained the floor, cascading down steps and seeping through nooks and crevices.
"Are you not going to stop them, my king? The orc is as dead as any creature can possibly be," whispered Captain Silnan. The king stood watching the two young elven friends as more and more blood stained their skin and clothes.
"No. They seem to be having fun," he muttered back, his face passive, "What shall we do with the body? Throw it to the wolves?"
A small arm curled around his leg and the king looked down in to the wide- eyed, tearful face of his daughter. She blinked back tears as the king picked her up.
"Ada, was the orc telling the truth?" she whispered
"No," came the reply
"So you have not deserted them?"
"No,"
"Can I go and play with Nilly and Elrohir and the orc?" she asked sweetly
"No,"
"Why not?"
The king thought about it, and then he thought about it a little more. Looking up, he saw that the two elves had still not slowed down with their relentless attack upon the body of the orc. He looked down again at his daughter and sighed. She must take after Imlammthien more than he had previously realised, as the same blood thirsty, warrior-like streak was now coming to the surface. He put the princess down and gave a slight push in the direction of the orc. Giggling slightly, the princes ran over to her brother, curtseyed to one of the guards before taking a dagger from his belt, and began violently mutilating the orc. The king sighed.
"I hope very much that the orc was lying," came a voice beside him. Thranduil looked around to see Elrond standing next to him, his jaw set and looking grim, "I doubt any of us would last long against your children should they turn against us."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Astaler, Nuryávië and Legolas had been walking along tunnels for an hour. Some wide and some narrow, some high ceilings and some low ceilings, some almost pitch black and others flickering red. Some had smoother bones on the floor than others - clearly the more used ones - and the three princes had passed many more versions of orcish art. They had now somehow found their way to the large main chamber they had first been pushed in to so long ago. The orcs were still scurrying about, tending to their business, though now when they passed the elves they bowed low before carrying on.
"Look!" gasped Astaler suddenly, pointing to a cage on a rock in the middle of the room with a figure huddled up inside it.
"Elladan!" moaned Legolas, "What have they done to him?"
Before the three of them had the chance to go over to their friend, a clawed hand squeezed Legolas' shoulder. Spinning around, the princes found themselves face to face with Urshak again.
"I see ye'v made yourselves familiar with our city," he said, "So now I suppose ye'll be wanting to know what yer mission is?"
Glancing at each other, the princes nodded.
"Right. We're gonna be sending yew back to yer king. Yew'r gonna kill him and the queen, then come back. Yer also gonna make sure than we get hold of Nilwethion and Calensil. Yeah, yeah, I know their names. We've been spyin' on ya for years. We're givin' ya four weeks before ya have to come back here. If ya don't get it right, we kill elfy up there in that cage. Understand?"
Again, the princes nodded.
"Are we going like this?" asked Legolas, remembering his new clothes and hair.
"Course y'are. If ya don't one of the lookouts would probly think yew were on the wrong side and kill ya!"
"Do we go now?" asked Astaler
"Yeah. We ain't givin' ya food, as you're gonna tell yer elfy friends some story about being forced in to being evil and escaping by the skin o' your teeth. Tell 'em ya all escaped, but got split up 'coz we were chasing' ya, and thought that the other three had got back fine. Right, off ya go. Remember, four weeks! Oh, and if ya still don't believe I'm ya brother, my bedroom used to be a large room on the third floor. Sixth room along from the staircase on ya right. It'll probably still be there, or at least the room will."
Without needing to be told twice, the three princes stalked off up the passage leading to the entrance to the huge lair of the orcs. At the top of the passageway, three orcs were waiting for them and pushed the huge boulder out of the way.
As the princes ducked out of the narrow tunnel to the salutes of the orcs, the sunlight hit them in the eyes, almost blinding them.
"Ow," muttered Legolas, shielding his eyes from the bright light, "Quick, under the cover of the trees. I wish the sun were not so bright. It gives me a headache!"
His brothers muttered in agreement and they fled underneath the canopy of the nearby trees. Looking around them, the princes gasped in the fresh air and took in all the sights and sounds of the forest they thought that they would never see again. Nuryávië laughed and spun around in a circle, looking upwards, his arms spread out, and then fell down, his head spinning.
"It is so good to be free!" whispered Astaler, aware that there were probably orcs still watching them, "Though we ought to be going back to the kings' halls as soon as we can. We should get this over and done with."
As soon as Nuryávië stumbled up to his feet, the princes, loving their new freedom, ran off in to the forest silently in the direction of Thranduil's halls, not worrying about their task, only savouring freedom.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~C~ ~~ Lol. Yes, the queen is going completely insane. Poor elf.
LEXIE ~~ Thanks. As I said to ~C~ the queen is still going insane, but will soon have completely lost it.
IMBEFANIEL ~~ are you reading Cassia's latest one? With the horse thieves? She is such a good writer! There is no such thing as too much elf torture.
MAVERICK GIRL ~~ Well to be fair, she didn't know that all her sons were alive. The other princes, as you can see, are now fine. I would hate to be in their position though.
SWEET-N-SOUR SLYTHERIN ~~ you didn't say you hated cliffies, but you have now. No, I'm not kidding you and yes I am evil, thanks for the compliment **grins** Does that mean that you were thinking about crying? If so wow, I didn't think I was that good at writing!
I know I haven't done it for a while, but all my wonderful reviewers get a lovely big cookie each. Thank you everyone! Now that you've read this chapter, please click the little box in the corner of the screen and leave me a review. Even if it's completely blank! I don't really mind.
The prince stared at his reflection silently. The creature staring back at him was so unlike any version of himself Legolas could ever have imagined.
He was dressed in brown leather leggings that clung to his skin, and a dark tunic, made of the same material as the leggings. Around his shoulders hung a long black cape, trailing down to the floor. His blond tresses, still not brushed and raster like with the hair of the dead orc woven in to the plaits, pulled viciously back so that half his hair was in a ponytail and the other half hung loosely in the style of an orc. By his side was a long scimitar, the same as those the orcs bore.
Urshak put an arm around his youngest brother and grinned widely.
"Just like me," he laughed, "An' I'll make sure yew think like me too. Whaddaya think of Thranduil?"
Legolas turned to look at the orc.
"He is a great and wise king," said the prince.
"Same answer as yer two brothers then. Thought as much. Whadaya think of him as a daddy?"
The young prince opened his mouth to answer, and then shut it again. Memories of all the times he had been punished came flooding back, unsummoned. The lectures. The angry red face about to burst a blood vessel. The raised voice. Now came back the memories of all the times something had been forbidden to him, like watching Oroweth and Astaler ride out on hunting parties and with the warriors when he was refused the privalige. All the times Thranduil had hidden something from himself and his siblings came back.
"No answer?"
Legolas looked away, newly angry with the king but ashamed at himself for thinking as he was.
The orc captain grin widened, his rotten fangs showing. He nodded, satisfied.
"Took me a while to realise he was the enemy too,"
"My father is not the enemy!"
"No? Sent any search parties after yew? Nope. Still got two left hasn't he? Course, it ain't their fault. They'll be with us soon. Cute ain't she, you little sister?"
Legolas swallowed, thinking about Nilwethion and Calensil. When was the last time he had thought of them? Too long. Again the prince felt ashamed of himself. He looked back up at the bronze mirror.
"I suppose yew'll be wanting to see yer brothers then?"
The elf nodded.
"They've seen the light too, y'know. Or the dark, depending on how yew see it," he laughed loudly, and Legolas found himself, much to his disgust, understanding the joke and finding it funny, in a twisted sort of way. Two orcs who had been standing by a large iron door pulled it open and bowed.
"Through 'ere," said one, and then hastily added, "Sir,"
"That's Girshund. 'E's a young 'un. Gonna take a bit o' getting used to having an elf cap'n," commented Urshak as the two passed through the door. Legolas shivered as he remembered his rank and looked back at the yellow eyes of the two staring orcs.
"Legolas!" The prince snapped his head around as he recognised the voice of Astaler.
Astaler and Nuryávië were lounging in a long room on two plain, iron beds covered with a few sheets and straw mattresses. In a second, the two princes had leapt over to their younger brother and wrapped him up quickly in an embrace. They bowed quickly to Urshak, and then pulled their attention back to Legolas.
"We are so glad you have joined us!"
"We thought you were going to pick the hard way!"
Legolas looked at his two brothers strangely, as if for the first time, and saw Astaler and Nuryávië in a new light.
They were both clad in exactly the same clothes as he was, their hair styled in the same way and the same weapons hung menacingly at their sides, though there was something different about them. Something altogether too, well, evil.
"I'll be leavin' yew to talk for an hour, but don't expect to get any longer 'n that. I've got a mission for yew. Shame yer brothers' chose the hard route, but that's their fault. I'll be seeing yew later,"
Astaler and Nuryávië bowed to Urshak as the orc left the room, shutting the door behind them. Legolas turned back to the two brothers.
"You . . .you have embraced the shadows?"
"No!" hissed Astaler, "Keep quiet, else they may hear us. Of course not you fool, although I do not know what to think of adar any more. I think I hate him, although I know I should not. We both do, though we are not evil like Neldoreth has become. We are only pretending to have changed sides. It may be our only hope of escape."
Legolas breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly foolish that he had ever doubted his brothers. He flopped down on to one of the hard beds.
"At least there is lots of light in here," he laughed. The other two sat down next to him.
"At least," agreed Nuryávië, "Did you know we are allowed to go wherever we please now that we are 'captains'?"
"We are?" gasped Legolas, "So Neldoreth trusts us that much?"
The prince shrugged.
"I suppose so. Have you seen all the . . .uh . . .art, on the walls?"
Legolas winced and nodded. Memory of the blood and bones and charcoal hanging from the walls like the tapestries in the halls of Thranduil flashed in front of his eyes.
"Shall we explore?" he asked, "Strange that we should be taken prisoner by our kin, and then given high ranks in the army of the enemy. Imagine if naneth and adar could see us now - and Nilwethion and Calensil. I hope they are alright,"
"They will be better off than we are," said Astaler, "Come, you wanted to explore,"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The king of Mirkwood was sitting bolt upright in his great throne, his wife on one side with Calensil held firmly on her knee and Nilwethion on his other side, still not completely understanding the situation. On his lap were various tokens from the orc. Legolas' dagger, Oroweth's broach from his cloak, Astalers cloak, rich with embroidery, and a couple of other small items. Around them were various counsellors and lords, including Elrond with others from Imladris and Mithrandir. On one arm of Nilwethion's throne sat Elrohir. They were all looking in the same direction - at the orc messenger before them with the two guards at his side, swords pointed at him. The orc bowed low.
"King Thranduil of Mirkwood," he began, "I bear a message from captain Urshak of the more hidden realm of Mirkwood."
The orc licked his lips, savouring the sour look on the face of the king.
"How dare you step foot in my halls?" hissed the king
The orc tutted.
"How polite you are, oh great king," his voice was mocking and sarcastic, "I much prefer your sons. Quite pleasant as elves go, when we let them stop screaming,"
Thranduil dug his fingernails in to the arms of his chair, his knuckles white. Beside him, his wife seemed confused and upset, clutching Calensil to her so tightly the princess could hardly breathe. On his other side, Nilwethion was grasping a dagger. The king glared a quick warning at his son, telling him without words not to harm the orc until the message was finished.
"What have you done to my sons?" hissed the king. The orc laughed.
"Oh I do not think daddy would like to know that. Perhaps it will be enough for him to know that they all hate you bitterly. They have come to believe that you do not care about them. They think you have deserted them in their hour of need. Needless to say, that is one of the reasons they cry out so much, even when we are not having our fun with them,"
"You lie!"
King Thranduil stood up, his face bright red, his deep maroon robes trimmed with gold crumpled but still imposing. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, desperately trying not to believe a word the orc was saying.
"I do not lie. I would offer for you to see them, but it would most likely kill a loving father. If you really are as loving of them as you are of yourself,"
"Why you . . ."
"But that is not the message. What was it now?"
The orc rubbed his temples, pretending to think. He flashed an evil grin sideways at one of the guards, who then scowled and jabbed the orc with his sword. The orc jumped back slightly in to the sword of the other guard. A spot of black blood appeared and the orc clicked his fingers.
"Why thank you for reminding me, little elfling!" cried the orc. His eyes narrowed maliciously. "We are in the process of giving the princes a meaning to life," he stopped abruptly.
"A meaning?" asked Nilwethion, light glancing off his dagger.
"Yes, little elfling, a meaning. Your dearest brothers will, after a few years, become very good officers in our army. Perfect little orcs. As will you, when we get our hands on you. Your sister also, perhaps. Although perhaps we will use her for something else. If I were the king, I would not let you out of these caves."
Nilwethion sprang up with his dagger raised to kill the orc, but Elrohir grabbed hold of his arms and dragged the prince back. The orcs eyes widened with glee when he looked at the Imladris elf struggling to get Nilwethion back under control.
"How did you escape after what we did to you, and with not a scratch?" he questioned, "Perhaps we ought to have kept you as an orc, not just a plaything . . . but wait . . ."
Elrohir and Nilwethion looked up from their struggle, realising the orc meant Elladan.
"You could not possibly have escaped. Not after our boys finished playing. I doubt they are finished yet. Not a moment of peace for our little toy. That must mean you are . . . Elrohir? Yes, the twin. Our toy cries out your name at such frequent intervals you would think he were a lover. Perhaps all elves are like you. From what I see of them, I would not know. All I know is that your lover twin is just as weak as any one of the princes, the silly, helpless little fools."
Elrohir's face contorted with pure anger and rage. He let go of Nilwethion, vaguely aware of the prince running along side him to kill the orc, but they was not the first to reach the it.
For the whole time, the queen Imlammthien had sat silently, holding Calensil tightly on her knee, but something within her had cracked. She flew at the orc, screaming wildly, knocking him over. The queen had thrown Calensil off her knee, the young princess wailing loudly as she was flung in to one of the nearby elves, but she did not take notice. Instead, Imlammthien knocked the messenger from Urshak over and began tearing at his face, arms and torso with her carefully looked after nails, ripping at his skin until the vile creature began yelling loudly.
By then, Elrohir and Nilwethion had got to the orc, their weapons drawn. As the two guards desperately pulled the queen away from the creature, the two took her place, only instead of using nails they used their daggers, treating the orc like a pincushion until black blood stained the floor, cascading down steps and seeping through nooks and crevices.
"Are you not going to stop them, my king? The orc is as dead as any creature can possibly be," whispered Captain Silnan. The king stood watching the two young elven friends as more and more blood stained their skin and clothes.
"No. They seem to be having fun," he muttered back, his face passive, "What shall we do with the body? Throw it to the wolves?"
A small arm curled around his leg and the king looked down in to the wide- eyed, tearful face of his daughter. She blinked back tears as the king picked her up.
"Ada, was the orc telling the truth?" she whispered
"No," came the reply
"So you have not deserted them?"
"No,"
"Can I go and play with Nilly and Elrohir and the orc?" she asked sweetly
"No,"
"Why not?"
The king thought about it, and then he thought about it a little more. Looking up, he saw that the two elves had still not slowed down with their relentless attack upon the body of the orc. He looked down again at his daughter and sighed. She must take after Imlammthien more than he had previously realised, as the same blood thirsty, warrior-like streak was now coming to the surface. He put the princess down and gave a slight push in the direction of the orc. Giggling slightly, the princes ran over to her brother, curtseyed to one of the guards before taking a dagger from his belt, and began violently mutilating the orc. The king sighed.
"I hope very much that the orc was lying," came a voice beside him. Thranduil looked around to see Elrond standing next to him, his jaw set and looking grim, "I doubt any of us would last long against your children should they turn against us."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Astaler, Nuryávië and Legolas had been walking along tunnels for an hour. Some wide and some narrow, some high ceilings and some low ceilings, some almost pitch black and others flickering red. Some had smoother bones on the floor than others - clearly the more used ones - and the three princes had passed many more versions of orcish art. They had now somehow found their way to the large main chamber they had first been pushed in to so long ago. The orcs were still scurrying about, tending to their business, though now when they passed the elves they bowed low before carrying on.
"Look!" gasped Astaler suddenly, pointing to a cage on a rock in the middle of the room with a figure huddled up inside it.
"Elladan!" moaned Legolas, "What have they done to him?"
Before the three of them had the chance to go over to their friend, a clawed hand squeezed Legolas' shoulder. Spinning around, the princes found themselves face to face with Urshak again.
"I see ye'v made yourselves familiar with our city," he said, "So now I suppose ye'll be wanting to know what yer mission is?"
Glancing at each other, the princes nodded.
"Right. We're gonna be sending yew back to yer king. Yew'r gonna kill him and the queen, then come back. Yer also gonna make sure than we get hold of Nilwethion and Calensil. Yeah, yeah, I know their names. We've been spyin' on ya for years. We're givin' ya four weeks before ya have to come back here. If ya don't get it right, we kill elfy up there in that cage. Understand?"
Again, the princes nodded.
"Are we going like this?" asked Legolas, remembering his new clothes and hair.
"Course y'are. If ya don't one of the lookouts would probly think yew were on the wrong side and kill ya!"
"Do we go now?" asked Astaler
"Yeah. We ain't givin' ya food, as you're gonna tell yer elfy friends some story about being forced in to being evil and escaping by the skin o' your teeth. Tell 'em ya all escaped, but got split up 'coz we were chasing' ya, and thought that the other three had got back fine. Right, off ya go. Remember, four weeks! Oh, and if ya still don't believe I'm ya brother, my bedroom used to be a large room on the third floor. Sixth room along from the staircase on ya right. It'll probably still be there, or at least the room will."
Without needing to be told twice, the three princes stalked off up the passage leading to the entrance to the huge lair of the orcs. At the top of the passageway, three orcs were waiting for them and pushed the huge boulder out of the way.
As the princes ducked out of the narrow tunnel to the salutes of the orcs, the sunlight hit them in the eyes, almost blinding them.
"Ow," muttered Legolas, shielding his eyes from the bright light, "Quick, under the cover of the trees. I wish the sun were not so bright. It gives me a headache!"
His brothers muttered in agreement and they fled underneath the canopy of the nearby trees. Looking around them, the princes gasped in the fresh air and took in all the sights and sounds of the forest they thought that they would never see again. Nuryávië laughed and spun around in a circle, looking upwards, his arms spread out, and then fell down, his head spinning.
"It is so good to be free!" whispered Astaler, aware that there were probably orcs still watching them, "Though we ought to be going back to the kings' halls as soon as we can. We should get this over and done with."
As soon as Nuryávië stumbled up to his feet, the princes, loving their new freedom, ran off in to the forest silently in the direction of Thranduil's halls, not worrying about their task, only savouring freedom.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~C~ ~~ Lol. Yes, the queen is going completely insane. Poor elf.
LEXIE ~~ Thanks. As I said to ~C~ the queen is still going insane, but will soon have completely lost it.
IMBEFANIEL ~~ are you reading Cassia's latest one? With the horse thieves? She is such a good writer! There is no such thing as too much elf torture.
MAVERICK GIRL ~~ Well to be fair, she didn't know that all her sons were alive. The other princes, as you can see, are now fine. I would hate to be in their position though.
SWEET-N-SOUR SLYTHERIN ~~ you didn't say you hated cliffies, but you have now. No, I'm not kidding you and yes I am evil, thanks for the compliment **grins** Does that mean that you were thinking about crying? If so wow, I didn't think I was that good at writing!
I know I haven't done it for a while, but all my wonderful reviewers get a lovely big cookie each. Thank you everyone! Now that you've read this chapter, please click the little box in the corner of the screen and leave me a review. Even if it's completely blank! I don't really mind.