Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkien's masterpiece. I want it though.
**********Chapter 12*********
Fwap! The whip snapped the ground just inches from where Legolas had previously lay.
What Angarod had told him had been right. The bloodshed of 'games' had continued, and Legolas had been chosen to fight again, by the same person. Lord Haveth's wife had apparently been impressed with his skills yesterday and had requested that he fight again. Legolas had the slightest impression that Lady Haveth's interest in him went a little beyond his fighting skills.
There was a high whistling sound as Legolas felt the whip whirl toward his head again. His opponent was once again one of Haveth's slaves. But he was different from the ones he had seen Eredor fight. This one was older than they, and had actually an idea of what he was doing.
Eredor. Legolas hadn't seen him since he himself had been in the ring yesterday. He hadn't been in the mess hall, and he hadn't appeared for afternoon training. Legolas wondered if Eredor knew he was still alive.
The whip snapped the air again, and Legolas leaped back. He was armed with something more than a small dagger this time—this time it was he that held the club with the metal hook at the end. But his opponent had also a small knife strapped to his belt, which so far he had chosen not to unsheathe.
The man let out a loud, angry war cry and lunged at the elf. Legolas dodged to the side, then brought his weapon down between the man's shoulders. The wooden club came into contact, and the man grunted in pain and fell, but the hook did not catch his flesh. Legolas was afraid of what would happen if it did. Killing an animal was one thing. Killing a slave, like him, who was forced to do this, was another.
Legolas's leg injury hadn't been much of a bother. He had done what Angarod had instructed and bound it with some scrap fabric he had found and the wound was improving. As far as he was concerned he had not a single weakness in this fight, despite his inexperience.
The man was quick to get up. He growled at Legolas and snapped the whip again. Legolas leaped back once more, but even an elf's speed could not match the speed of a whip for long. The very tip of the whip caught him at the base of the neck, ripping away a small strip of skin. Legolas cried out softly, but the wound was not nearly enough to stop him.
Unfortunately, the wounds he had also given his partner in this death-dance weren't enough to stop him either.
The whip came again. This time it caught Legolas in the chest, shredding his shirt—or what was left of his shirt. The continuous whippings of Angarod's whip had left his shirt in tatters, and now it hung off his shoulders by merely a few shreds. It offered more distraction than protection to him now.
Legolas retreated to the outside of the ring, where his opponent would take time to follow him. He used his own weapon to rip what was left of the fabric off of him, letting it fall into the dust. (Ooh-la-la!) He then returned, shirtless, to the center of the ring. His opponent wasted no time in continuing what they had started.
Legolas dodged, leapt, and ducked, but most of his efforts to avoid the whip were in vain. Soon he was covered in gashes. He felt his blood escape from his wounds and drip down his body, but his strength remained in him. His wounds, though very painful, weren't deep, and he could see his enemy's arm was tiring.
Legolas and his opponent circled each other slowly. Legolas tried to find an entryway—a way to get close to the man, so that he could deliver a blow. But the whip seemed to be everywhere he turned. Fortunately, Legolas could see the man's movement's become slower as his arm protested the abuse, and could sense his tiredness.
Even if Legolas could get inside the man's guard, the battle would be far from over. And it would be bloody. The hooked club was not a weapon made to kill quickly.
The whip stirred the air in front of him yet again. He almost instinctively took a step back, but then he raced forward. The man was most at risk when he drew back his arm for another strike. Legolas knew this. But he didn't expect the man's reaction to his attack to be so fast.
The man had seen him coming from the moment he hadn't taken a step back. He was more experienced, and so he knew.
The man brought his whip down upon Legolas, and it would have given him a good gash in his shoulder, if he hadn't blocked it. With his arm.
The woven leather wrapped around the elf's forearm, the tasseled end biting into his flesh. But Legolas ignored his pain and with the same hand grasped the whip's handle, pulling his opponent towards him. The man let go, but only after Legolas got him within range.
Swinging the arm that held the club in an arch, Legolas brought it down on the man's shoulder. There was a sickening sound of flesh tearing, and then the man's scream. When Legolas pulled back his weapon, the hook dripped with blood and pieces of skin and muscle, and he dropped it in shock and felt himself begin to become sick again. But he bit his lip and forced himself to remain standing and strong. The crowd in the stands was going wild.
The man looked at his torn-up shoulder. Legolas's weapon had ripped a gash that went to the bone. In fact, Legolas could see some white there, in the mangle mass of red. The man's arm was now useless, for Legolas had probably severed the nerves in his attack. But the man was not dead, and not about ready to give up. He remained standing and reached around his body to grab a hold of his knife, and with a cry of desperation and pain, lunged at the elf.
Because of his injury, the man was clumsy and slow, and Legolas dodged his attack with no effort. The loss of blood also made the man lose his balanced, and he fell face-first into the sand at Legolas's feet. He groaned pitifully as his blood left him, collecting in a pool around him. But his life was still clinging to him. Clinging to him, for every last, agonizing moment.
Legolas stared, disbelieving, at the crying and moaning man in the dust. It would take him at least a few minutes to bleed to death. And every minute would be torture. Legolas, despite his hate for most of the human race, couldn't let him end like that.
Legolas looked at the whip, still partially wrapped around his arm. He removed it and took the weapon in his hands. He heard the man moan once more.
Legolas stepped forward and placed his uninjured foot on the man's back. The man let out a whimper, which the elf tried his best to ignore. He bent down and gently lifted the man's head, and slipped the whip under the man's chin, wrapping it around towards the back. Legolas then twisted the two ends of the whip together, making its grip on the man's throat tighter and tighter. Soon the man began to make sputtering sounds, but as Legolas continued to twist the whip, he stopped making sounds all together. Yet his life still refused to leave him.
As the man came closer to death, Legolas could hear his heart pounding desperately in his chest. The elf tried hard to stop from thinking about the pain he must be causing the man, and more about the mercy he was showing him for not letting die an even slower, more painful death. The man's heart began to convulse, deprived of the air it so much needed, and the man's movements ceased. Legolas knew that it would be over soon.
Soon the man's heart fluttered in his chest, and Legolas felt his own heart speaking to him. Words of mercy, pity, and the unknown echoed within the elf's body. It was then that Legolas realized that the man's heart had stopped.
Legolas dropped the whip and staggered away from the body that inside once dwelled life. But now…it was just a corpse. And Legolas, with his own hands, had been the cause for that change.
Murderer…the same voice that had called him a coward now returned to taunt him even more. To test his sanity. Legolas pushed the whispers to the back of his mind.
Right now he was hungry.
********Personal thingy********
AN: Ok! Now that this story has got a significant amount of gore and bloodshed, we can go on to the more in-depth parts of the story. Eredor will return, and like I've said before, Legolas will meet someone—a female someone, who will change his life forever. It's your guess who! I'm not telling!
Another AN: Well, I'm back from vacation and for those of you who care it was great! I went to Book World and bought the GQ magazine with Johnny Depp on the cover! *hugs magazine to chest* Oooh, I love Johnny! I am trying my best to get back on track with this story, thank you all for sticking by me! I will continue updating regularly now, at least until school starts. Then I won't have as much time cuz I'm planning to join 3 after-school choirs (I am the kind of girl that if I stop singing I stop breathing), the school musical and play (which, as I learned last year, took A LOT of time) and of course there will be homework (ugh) and all. But I will try my best to keep the story going! Thank you soo much guys! It means soo much to me! Bye!
~Roseblade22
Truffles: Don't fret! I'm back! And another update will be coming later this week! Thanks! *gives you cookie*
Outlawgirl081: Did you add a '1' to the end of your penname? Or am I just being blonde? Yay! Friendly reviewers always welcome! Thank you soooo much!! *gives you cookie*
~Bree~: Hello, and thanks for reviewing, especially ALL of my stories, even my little sister's! I've never had a reviewer do that before! Thank you so much for your compliments, and I'm sorry for making you gag with that Eredor-turned-psycho-killer thing! I bet this chapter made you gag too! Oooh, I'm sorry! I just want it to be realistic and the thing is that the only way to do that is to be graphic and all. Again, sorry! Yes, my vacation was good and all, but not the same without my computer and my fanfic and my super nice reviewers! But now I'm back and ready for more, so I'll keep 'em coming if you do! Thank you again! *gives you cookie*
Truffles (again): I didn't die! I didn't die! Don't worry! I still draw breath! Don't send me to H-E-double-hockey sticks! (sorry, but my sister's here watching me, and I try not to swear in front of her) It will take me some time to finish the story, though, cuz I have a lot planned for Legolas *evil grin* and after this story is finished, I have an idea for a sequel. Plus lots of other stories that I have ideas for. Yay! Sprinkles! And good luck with your dog in the 4-H state fair!! Congrats! *bows submissively* I hope you do well! Huh? Aapy the penquin? Oookay…*grins* Well, thanky anyway! *gives you another cookie*
Nikki: Hiya! Thanks! A lot of people have told me that they liked that "Hello. Elf. We don't fall ill" sentence. Which is good, cuz I thought it was to "modern" for a middle earth-born elf, you know? But now I'm glad I kept it in there! Thanks! My vacation was great, thanks, and another update will be coming later this week! *gives you cookie*
Nikki (again): Smores and Will Turner! Whee! *swoons* Yes. Poor crying Legolas. Well, he has lost his brother and his freedom and all, so you can't blame him. I'd cry too if my sister got killed. A lot too. He can kill wargs, yes! Go Legolas! As for the scarring thing…not a scratch on him! *laughs* Thanks, girl! *gives you another cookie*
Ankhesanamun: Oh, ok. Egyptian? Cool! I like it! What's it mean? Nope, never been called sadistic before. But if you insist I am such a thing…oh well…reviewer is always right. Thank you! *gives you a cookie*
Andmetwen: Ok. Now I get it! Don't worry, no offense to blondes here! I'm blonde, and I'm proud of it! *sings* Say it loud, Blonde is Proud! Oh god, yes! Cassia is like the Legolas Fanfic Goddess! I love her work soo much! Men suck. All of them. Cept Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp, and a few choice others. Thanks! *gives you a cookie*
Starknight: Yes, a lot of people say they like that sentence! Thanks! And I will try to get to your friend's fanfic sometime this week, okay! And I will review yours as well! You have fun in Montana, okay! I survived without my computer and all, so you will too! Thank you again! *gives you a cookie*
Starknight (again): Is that really how it works? Oh, poo. Oh well. I get enough reviewers now, and I'm happy with them! They are soo nice to me! Thanks, Louis! *gives you another cookie*