WARNING: This chapter contains explicit details of torture and innuendo of rape, please read at your own risk. I wish to point out that the torture scenes contained herein are brutal, and not for the faint hearted. I hope the chapter isn't too squicky for all of you, but I thought it vital that everyone should see how much Frodo was truly tortured. I didn't put the non-con in here to be construed as an act of slash. Rape is an act of violence, not lust and I felt it necessary to show how vulnerable and weak Frodo would appear to his captors.

Disclaimer: All characters and places depicted are the sole property of the JRR Tolkien Estate; my only claim to fame is this small piece of fiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

Medical Disclaimer: While extensive research has been done, none of the cures or procedures depicted in this story should be used without first consulting a medical professional. Also, there may be graphic medical details and wee hobbit behinds in this chapter, so if that makes you squeamish, you'd better pass.

Thanks so much to my reviewers digital dreamer- Unfortunately, I am not so talented that I could write and post all of the 31 chapters in one week. I have the story written up to chapter 40, and have just recently decided to post it here. Still, your review was very flattering and I am so glad you are enjoying it. Off topic, where did you get your Frodo and Aragorn plushies??? I would kill to have one or heck, the whole fellowship. Let me know, ok?

lindahoyland- This chapter, for me, is very angsty and moving. I hope you will (enjoy?) read it and review it as well. Thanks for your wonderful words of encouragement.

heartofahobbit-- Such great praise from one of my favorite authors (I have you bookmarked!) I hope you will continue to read and review and enjoy the fic. Thanks!

Title: Smoke and Mirrors Chapter 32/?

Author: Lovethosehobbits

Archive: Sure, just let me know where.

He was so cold. His body ached with the sheer magnitude of the cold, so much so that he thought perhaps the fire had gone out or that he had fallen from the bed and now lay on the frozen stones of his room. He looked down at himself and gasped. He was naked, filthy and bound. Cuts and scrapes covered his body. Whip marks and lashes zigzagged across his legs and feet. He shuddered, clinching his teeth. 'Not real...this is NOT real. I am dreaming again. I cannot be here again'. 'Wait...'

His eyes snapped open, 'if I've been here before, if I know what is to happen....'he shuddered and gulped, 'then it must be a dream, and only a dream.' But a small voice inside his head whispered 'perhaps it is not...perhaps the other...the other is the dream, and this is your true fate...to suffer at their hands.... to feel them pawing and pressing upon you...to smell the fetid stink of their flesh...and endure the fiery pain... perhaps that is your reality.'

'NO,' Frodo argued. 'No, that cannot be! I saw them, spoke with them...Gandalf, Merry, Pip, Aragorn, Sam...all of them. This is not real,' he said and set his jaw firmly. 'Perhaps not, gentlehobbit of the Shire, but it is real enough, is it not?' The voice whispered. 'The despair and degradation, the self loathing, the agony.... it is all real enough for you, Ringbearer.'

Frodo sobbed. 'No, this has to end. I cannot bear it any longer.' He looked up into the leering faces of the orcs as they moved closer and surrounded his frail form.

"He's to be unspoiled, it is the Master's wish," growled Lugburz, the apparent leader. He leered down at Frodo, licking his lips. His breath broke over Frodo's face and it took everything in Frodo's power not to retch. "If anyone is to taste of this rat's flesh, it's gonna be me," he grinned lecherously. "But le's see if we can't stretch it outta bit, eh?" He grabbed Frodo by the hair and slapped him back and forth across the face, "Where is it you slime rat?" he yelled into Frodo's face.

"I have nothing. You have taken everything.... everything," his eyes became unfocused and he swallowed tightly. The Ring, his beloved Ring, was gone. Who could have known how deeply he would feel the loss. He was dragged across the room, shackles were placed on his wrists and he was yanked up into the air and left to dangle in front of his tormentors.

"We knows better'n dat. Da Master wants wutz hiz and you be tellin or you be screamin'! May be a bit o' both, " whined Snaga. He brought the whip up and down, how many times, Frodo lost count. Frodo screamed as his back burned in agony.

"I know nothing, I haven't got what you seek," he screamed. But they continued, laughing as he writhed and arched each time the lash crossed his small back.

"I cin get it outta 'em. Let me give it a go, Lugburz." leered Snaga. "Whippin' and burnin' his skin and even the kickin' aint doin' it. I have sumpin' better'n mind... it won' leave a mark an it'll be fun ta boot," he licked his lips.

Lugburz grinned. "Nar...only if I gets first licks, then the whole of ya cin 'ave him. He aint gonna say nuttin', are ya rat?" He grabbed Frodo's head and jerked it up. Frodo began sobbing, his breathes coming in rapid gasps, knowing what was to come next. He could not go through this again. 'It's just a dream...just a dream...not real', he repeated to himself, like a litany, hoping he would awaken soon and find himself anywhere but this dreaded, hateful place.

'If it's a dream, you can wake up.... wakeup Frodo.... wake up...put up a fight...scream.... don't just lie there.... you must fight' the voice whispered with urgency.

Lugburz grabbed him from the shackles, roughly removing them from his bruised wrists, and threw him on the filthy floor. Frodo tried to scurry away but was quickly grabbed by his ankles. A heavy kick was delivered to his right side and he pulled his body in on itself trying to draw breath. He felt himself being lifted up by the hair and was thrown, stomach first, onto a table. "Oh no...nononononononono not again," he sobbed to himself. The group moved around the table, all different kinds of orcs, cheering Lugburz on and betting on how long it would take for the hobbit to lose consciousness and be forced to swallow the grog.

SAM! HELP ME! SAM! SAM!!! " He screamed, becoming hysterical. He knew what was coming; he needed someone to stop this torture, this breaking, not only of his body but also of his mind. "SAM!" he screeched. He felt grimy, filthy claws being raked over his skin, orcs licking their lips and yelling and laughing excitedly to each other about what they could do to one so fair.... as Lugburz moved in for the kill. Then the horrible agony assaulted his body. Pain pinning him like a butterfly in one of Bilbo's collections. He screamed and retched. He screamed until his voice was spent and still it went on, orc after orc until he stared with unseeing eyes, the agony becoming a numb throbbing. The last orc picked him up and threw him like a rag doll, across the room where he hit the wall and landed on a pile of refuse. Gratefully, he lost consciousness.

Sam had been sleeping quite comfortably next to his Master when the nightmare began. At first there were murmurs and then Frodo began twisting and pushing against him. He pulled Frodo to him, trying to gently wake him by whispering soothing nonsense words in his ear and gently combing through his hair. But this seemed only to aggravate his Master all the more until now Frodo was screaming and thrashing wildly. Screams of pain and panic issued from the hysterical hobbit. And Sam was struck with the analogy of a wounded animal being brutally tortured. He clutched Frodo to him, "I'm here, Mr. Frodo. No ones gonna hurt you no more. I'm here, me dear. Shussssh, be quiet, me dear...tis alright.... tis just your Sam...." He continued trying desperately to quiet this wild creature that vaguely resembled his Master.

When the wailing had started, Sam had heard a rush of activity in the hallway as healers made way to Frodo's room. Saleth entered first then Aragorn followed quickly by Merry. They ran to the bedside and encircled Frodo and Sam trying to calm and waken the ringbearer. Frodo's eyes lit on them and his face paled, panic evident in his features. His eyes were wide with terror and had the glassy look of one still caught in the dream world. He looked from face to face, seeing the phantasms of the nightmare he was locked in. Aragorn grasped Frodo's face between his hands, Frodo screamed again, kicking at the King.

"Come back.... come back to the light, Frodo!" Aragorn commanded, instantly, Frodo's eyes cleared, his body sagged and he was overcome with jagged sobs. He turned to Sam, clutching at his nightshirt desperately.

"Sam, Sam save me! Don't let them hurt me like that again. Sam....oh, Sam... PLEASE!" he choked and begged in rushed sentences. Sam's face crumpled in fear and alarm for his Master, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He pulled Frodo tightly to him, "No, my dear. No ones hurtin' you again. Your Sam will protect you." Merry crawled up on the bed and embraced Sam and Frodo.

"You're safe, Frodo. We'll protect you. We'll all protect you," Merry whispered as he clung to his cousin and the devoted gardener.

Saleth had prepared chamomile tea and mixed in a heavy dose of sedative as well. Now Aragorn brought the cup to Frodo, and Sam helped Frodo take shaking gulps of the brew until it was gone. He trembled violently within the hobbit embrace. "You're safe, Frodo. We are here for you, little one," Aragorn said, his voice cracking with emotion as he looked on this small group of friends.

"Safe...safe...no orcs...just...dream...help me Sam. I don't want any more dreams...please help me," Frodo whispered as his eyes began to close and he slumped against Sam's chest. Sam moved to lie him down, but Frodo's eyes snapped open, "No, don't leave me.... they'll come back.... they always come back...Sam." Sam soothed him some more until he had calmed and his eyes were, once again closed, but made no move to disengage the clutching hands from his nightshirt.

"These night terrors only worsen as each day passes. It becomes harder and harder to wake him from them. I worry that one night we will be unable to do so and he will be trapped within his nightmares forever," Aragorn whispered.

Sam looked up at Aragorn, "How can that be? They are still only nightmares, Mr. Strider, sir," he said worriedly.

"If he believes them to be real he will slowly lose his sanity, Sam. The dreams will become his reality and our world will be but a passing dream to him. If this happens he will go mad. The dreams are so strong and so vivid; Frodo will be unable to distinguish what is real and what is memory. It is imperative we deal with this or it could be the end of the Frodo we know and love." Aragorn rose, he gave a cup of the laced tea to both Sam and Merry. "Drink, gentlemen. He will not have this dream again tonight, I'll warrant." Sam looked at Merry, Merry nodded and then they drank. After they were done, Sam settled down pulling his Master protectively into the curve of his body. Frodo sighed contentedly.

Aragorn turned to Merry. "Get some sleep now, Merry. You must get him to talk to you, to anyone or he will lose his hold on his sanity." Merry kissed Frodo on his damp forehead and left the room to rejoin Pippin in their quarters. Aragorn and Saleth stared down at Frodo. A heavy sigh came from the King. "This must work," he turned to Saleth, "We cannot allow this continued torture of this dear friend." He turned back and studied the two hobbits as they slept.

Frodo slowly opened his eyes as the sunlight crept through the shutters, filling the room with a bright glow. Beside him Sam slept, and he smiled at his dearest friend's face, so peaceful he looked. He had a vague feeling of uneasiness as, slowly, he began to recall bits and pieces of the nightmare. ' At least it is over, and no harm done', he thought. But still doubt niggled at his brain, suggesting that perhaps, this night had been different somehow. Sam had awoken and he watched Frodo as he began to sit up. He could see that his Master was still weak, so he reached out to support him. Frodo jumped.

"Oh, Sam, I thought you were still sleeping," he smiled. "I was just going to use the chamber pot. I can do it myself Sam, you just rest; you look exhausted," he said with concern.

"It's all right, Mr. Frodo. I need to be gettin' up to get breakfast anyways," Sam said gently.

"Nonsense. You keep insisting on coddling me, but you yourself have just gone through an equally horrifying ordeal and should rest," Frodo smiled.

Sam's eyes filled with tears and his lip quivered. Frodo obviously did not recall the latest 'ordeal'. Frodo became alarmed at Sam's reaction and reached out for his friend. "Oh, Sam, what have I done or said? I didn't mean anything by it, my friend," his eyes were wide in alarm and he pulled Sam to him in a tight embrace.

"Mr. Frodo...you had an awful nightmare last night," Sam said quietly.

Frodo's face took on a hooded, secretive look. "Did I? I hope I didn't wake you, Sam. What did I say or do?" he asked levelly, but there was a quaver in his voice.

"You need to talk to someone, Mr. Frodo, and soon. If not me, then Mr. Merry or anyone, but you cannot keep this locked inside you, pretending it didn't happen any longer," Sam whispered as he clasped Frodo's hands in his and looked into his Master's blue eyes.

Frodo now felt terrified that somehow he had revealed himself and the darkness that held sway over him whenever he closed his eyes. He forced himself to keep his face as neutral as possible. "They're just dreams, Sam. They will pass. There's nothing that can be done for it, it's just the way it is," he said evenly.

"NO!" Sam shouted. Frodo jumped. Seldom had he seen his kind and gentle gardener so furious as he was now. "You will not hide this...you will NOT keep it to yourself like you do everythin' else...it will RUIN you and I will not allow you to torture yourself by refusing help when it is offered!" With that Sam stomped from the room, leaving a wide eyed, shocked and confused Frodo Baggins perched on the side of his bed.

Merry brushed past Sam as he exited the room. "It's a bit early for a row, isn't it cousin? What have you said or done to rile him so?" he grinned slowly.

Frodo shook his head. "It's a mystery to me. But it seems to involve me being stubborn, secretive and having nightmares," he said as he continued to gape at the empty doorway.

"Ahh...I understand completely now," Merry said. Frodo's eyes were instantly on him.

"You do?"

"Yes cousin, I do." Merry said solemnly, the grin now gone.

"Who else shares this knowledge? I myself, seem to be at a loss, having no memory of the event." Frodo asked slowly.

"Saleth, Aragorn, Sam and myself, cousin," answered Merry. "Today we will get to the bottom of it, and then the monster will lose his hold over you and become more manageable, I think." he added.

Frodo visibly paled as he gulped. He felt suddenly sick to his stomach. These reactions were not lost on Merry. "First, we will begin with me, as promised, my love. But let's get you comfortable, shall we?" Frodo nodded slowly as a feeling of dread overcame him. He took Merry's hand and slowly lowered his feet to the floor. He wavered a bit, but then stood firm. Merry pulled the screen by the chamber pot and Frodo had his privacy. "Just call when you're done, Frodo," said Merry as he washed his hands and began warming the lavender oil for Frodo's massage. He put a kettle on for tea and once the water was breaking, dropped the tea in to steep. He placed the kettle on the hearth and retrieved two cups from the sideboard. After filling them with tea, he added a healthy dose of honey to each, since they both enjoyed their tea on the sweet side. He placed these on the tray. Frodo had finished and stood watching Merry by the curtain. When Merry turned he almost dropped the tray in surprise. "Hoy, Frodo, you gave me a start. I told you to call me," he grumped. Merry removed the chamber pot to the water closet and turned to help Frodo back into bed. He looked into Frodo's eyes, Frodo looked back.

"It was a bad one, wasn't it Merry. Last night? I must have had a bad one," he gulped looking frightened and Merry noticed suddenly just how small and frail his strong willed cousin looked at that moment... like a lost child, his face in distress and unsure of himself. Merry pulled him into an embrace," Yes, Frodo it was a bad one...but we're going to right this, together." He walked Frodo to the bed and tucked him in. Frodo felt suddenly exhausted, knowing that everyone knew what he had gone through in the tower of Cirith Ungol. He hadn't wanted to burden them, knowing there was nothing they could do to change things. He closed his eyes and tears slid down from under the lashes. He felt unclean; that he was not worthy to be amongst those that cared for him. He knew these feelings were unfounded, but was unable to dismiss or ignore them. A small groan escaped him and he turned to his side.

Merry felt pity and wanted to comfort his cousin, but decided instead to ignore the tears and push on. Perhaps if he told Frodo about his worst recurrent nightmare, Frodo would share and they could both gradually begin to heal. "Roll over, Frodo," he murmured. Frodo rolled onto his stomach and Merry removed the nightshirt, and covered Frodo from the waist down with a quilt. He began to run the warmed oil into Frodo's scarred back, and to speak quietly.

"Do you want to hear about my nightmare, Fro'?" he whispered.

"Yes, Mer'. Tell me about the worst one first, all right?" Frodo's voice shook as he answered.

To be continued…