(chapter 5)

It had been a month. He questioned her relentlessly. She still maintained her name was truly "Morniel" and that she was from Brethil. He was running out of patience. He was running out of time.

His master had sent for him again after his two days of having her completely to himself were up. He went with renewed vigor. He had taken her in many positions, giving himself over to his arousal and desire. It didn't matter that he had to force her, mentally, to give herself to him. All that mattered was he could satisfy himself, and he took every opportunity to do so. Even after the original two days were up.

The master gave him the order to continue with the questioning. The Dark Lord was getting impatient. Lord Melkor was hungry for Gondolin, and he would see it destroyed. He was bent on the destruction of the Noldor as well. Therefore, the need for Morniel's answers were more dire. Raven was back on "duty" and he had a job to do.

He was allowed to use whatever means necessary to get answers from Morniel, but no new answers came. He used humiliation by forcing her to walk naked in the hallways with her hands tied behind her back, in front of those of his men who had not been near a female in years. He used fear by leaving her in a pit, naked, with a crazed and hungry beast just behind a iron gate. He used pain by hitting, pinching, twisting, and pulling, with most of it happening while he forced himself sexually on her. Still, he had no new answers.

He was locking the door to her cell in the hours before dawn when he heard grunting. Following the sound, he came to the door a small storage room. The door had been opened in haste, and was open enough for him to see inside. The man was turned away from the door, but Raven saw what he was doing.

The man had obviously been listening while Raven was relieving his arousal on Morniel again. The man was grunting faster, his hand picking up the pace, as he neared ecstasy. Raven turned away to let the man finish, and walked back to Morniel's cell. Standing outside her door, the idea hit him. Smiling, he unlocked the door and entered.

"I thought you had gone to your bed." came her voice from the direction of the pallet.

"I was on my way there when an idea struck me."

"What sort of idea?"

He couldn't help but notice the slight quaver of fear in her voice. He walked over to her pallet and stood over her. She turned to face him, but did not sit up.

"Do you know how long it's been since my men have been with a female?"

"What do you mean?" the fear in her voice grew a little more. Raven was sure she knew what he was about to say.

"I mean that, as a reward for their hard work and loyal service, I'll let them have a go at you. There will be a rule or two to curb their enthusiasm, but over all, they'll enjoy it. It will also guarantee that their loyalties remain true to me and my Master."

She was silent. The look she gave him was hard. She then turned away from him, and curled into a tight ball.

"I'll bring in the first one tomorrow night. Be ready."

He turned away from her and opened the door. Remembering one more thing, he said over his shoulder, "You hold the key, my dear Morniel. You need only answer my questions with the truth. Once you do that, I'll call off this new... arrangement." With that, he went out of the door and locked it.

Ascending the stairs, he headed to his chamber for some rest. As he went, he heard her singing. It sounded mournful, as if she had lost all hope. He smiled to himself. Things should go smoothly, and he should be able to complete his task.