A/N Ok, sorry for the extra long delay!! I don't think I've ever waited that long to update anything....well almost. Anyway, its just that when I got the 'inspiration' for this chapter, I was at a friend's house and I had no computer, so I wrote it down on paper and ended up writing the entire time I was there (5 days, I think), so I got this chapter done and ½ chapter 4,but I usually write my stuff straight onto the computer without passing thru the paper phase, so when I got back home, I had to type up all of it, which I think is really boring, cuz I hate writing the same thing over again...so that took longer than it should have...but no worries, I'm back now, though my updates will probably be about a week apart now because I have developed a new obsession: LiveJournal RPGs! I'm George in a Harry Potter RPG and take my role to heart, so I spent quite a bit (too much according to my mom) of time doing that, and I believe I've blabbed enough, so I'll let u go onwards with the story!
Disclaimer don't own, blah blah blah...
After leaving the room where they had seen the other elf, Legolas and Aragorn were lead through a series of passages, twisting back and forth, passing in front of doors that were so similar, they might have been passing the same ones each time. Time passed as a blur for Legolas, who was still trapped inside his own thoughts.
Their situation was getting worse and worse by the second. They had no idea where they were, and even if he and Estel did find a way to escape the orcs, which seemed past impossible, there would be no way to find their way back out of the winding passages. And now with the sight of the elven maiden still lingering in his mind, it seemed that they would be stuck in this hole for eternity.
So entranced was he in his thoughts that Legolas barely noticed when the push on his back stopped and he, Aragorn, and their little entourage halted before yet another solid wood door. The orc leader pulled a large, tarnished iron key out of his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. The door slowly creaked open, and before either Legolas or Aragorn could get a good look inside, they were both pushed inside the room and the door slammed loudly behind them.
Aragorn and Legolas exchanged looks from their position on the hard dirt floor. At least they'd stopped moving. They both got up slowly, their gaze quickly making their way around the room.
It was small, square, and bare. Nothing more. A light orange light emanated from a small torch hung on the far right wall, casting the corners in eary, flickering shadows.
The lighting was so poor that it took a few moments for even Legolas to notice the darker shadows loitering in the corner. Legolas squinted at the corner, his keen elven eyes trying to make out the dark shape. He nearly gasped in surprise when he recognized the figure.
A small sudden spark in the flame provided enough light for Aragorn to recognize the person as well. Light flew quickly across the fair features of the elf maiden then had seen tied up in the larger chamber upon entering the underground prison and her emerald eyes caught the glare of the spark and gleamed eerily for a short moment.
She was crouched in the corner, cradled into a small ball, making it even harder to see her. A tattered and ripped traveling cloak was draped across her shoulders, hiding the slash marks and blood trails Legolas knew would be covering her back.
She was looking up at them from above her knees and was staring intently back and forth between the two friends, whom were both returning the stare.
After a few moments of silence, she slowly cocked her head to one side. "Are you real?" she asked. Her voice was a bit rough as if it hadn't been used in a long time, yet both Legolas and Aragorn could still hear what were the remains of a once-melodic voice.
Aragorn's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the strange question. "Of course," he responded, rather more roughly than he had ought to.
The lady sighed and leaned her head back against the stone wall, closing her eyes.
"That's what they all said. But it's never true." She looked back up at Legolas, whose heart lurched yet again at the sight of her haunted green eyes. The elf shook her head sadly and smiled weakly. "I never know what's real anymore."
Legolas could feel Aragorn beginning to get a little wary of the lady and he looked sideways at his friend, his gaze holding a mix of curiosity and hesitancy.
The elf obviously noticed the look because she cocked her head at Aragorn again and asked, a bit of amusement playing of her words, "Are you afraid of me, little adan?"
Aragorn quickly blurted out. "No." Legolas nearly laughed at the human's quickliness at conserving his self-esteem. Though he would never admit it, strangers usually scared Aragorn more than facing death in battle ever did.
The elf lady looked at them thoughtfully.
"They usually are not afraid either."
She was silent after that and contented herself in staring at the two beings that still stood in front of the door. The three of them watched either other silently while moments passed slowly by.
Legolas couldn't help but examine the elf more carefully as she sat huddled in the corner. Even in the dim light, he could see the extent of her beauty. She looked as flawless as all elves did, save for a few bruises and cuts that nicked her face. Her auburn hair was unbound and toppled down across her shoulders in wild, uncared-for waves, framing her face and casting her already-darkened eyes in shadow. Yet as fair and beautiful as she was, Legolas noticed what was missing.
The same light that was absent in her eyes was missing in her entire being, as well. The usual glow that lit up the elven kind had been turned off, snuffed out along with the passion for life and all things living that usually inhabited elves. Pity overwhelmed Legolas as he imagined what his own existence might result in did he lose his own love for life.
Aragorn's voice was the first to break the silence.
"Why have we been brought here?" he asked, his voice a little softer now that he had had the time to contain himself.
The lady's gaze turned towards him. "I should not even bother telling you. You will find out when you meet him," she said, and a faint hint of hate and disgust tainted her voice. "He'll tell you everything. That is if you are real. If you are not, then it does not really matter, does it?" she finished, the irony of her situation not lost upon her.
Aragorn frowned. "Who is he?"
"The master," the lady said, her voice growing softer as if she feared being overheard. "When you see him, he will tell you everything. His plan. How things will be once it is completed. He will tell you not so you know, but just so you can hold on to the hope than you should be able to escape and reveal his plan and put a stop to it. Just so you stay hopeful long enough to realize that there really is no hope. Just so that when you start to despair, the fall will be so great it will break you. Because at one point you will realize that there is no hope, no way to escape what will come to pass. And you know that no matter what, they will win. You will know soon." As she was talking, the lady's voice had gotten quieter and quieter, to the point where Aragorn had to strain his ears to make out what she was saying, and her eyes had glazed over so it seemed that as she could see now was the cause of her despair, unrolling before her.
"What is this plan you speak of?" Aragorn asked softly.
The lady's eyes focused again as Aragorn's voice brought her back to reality. "You will find out soon enough," she repeated. "In the meantime, you had better hope this is a hallucination, or you will be suffering from these and many other things soon as well."
"What kind of things?" Legolas asked, suddenly frightened. If what the orcs did was enough to extinguish the glow of an elf and send her toppling into despair, then he feared what they would do to Estel, who was, after all, only human.
The lady shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. "Anything. Poisons, whips, fists, swords, daggers, arrows. Whatever it takes to keep you quiet. They have had plenty of times to experiment in their methods."
"How much time? How long have you been trapped here?" Aragorn asked.
The elf shook her head and a few more strands of dark hair fell in front of her emerald eyes.
"I lost track. A century, maybe two. A thousand years could pass and I would not know it. Time passes unchecked when there is neither moon nor stars nor sun to see its progress."
Aragorn almost gasped. Being of Numenorian decent, he had a longer lifespan than most humans did, but he knew he would certainly perish if they were to be trapped here for another century.
Before any of them could say anything more, the door burst open, knocking Aragorn, who was still standing in front of it, in the back of the head. He stumbled a little and rubbed the forming lump, but remained silent.
The orc leader Legolas and Aragorn had previously encountered stood in the door frame, his wide bulk blocking all outside light out. He walked in, followed closely by two 'body-guard' orcs, whose claw-like hands gripped swords at their hips.
The leader barely acknowledged Legolas and Aragorn and walked straight up to the elf, who still huddled in the corner. Upon the orcs' arrival, the lady's face had turned to stone, a solid mask of challenging defiance, yet her eyes told of the acceptance she felt towards whatever was coming.
"Up," the orc grunted, distorting the word to the point where it was almost unrecognizable.
The elf slowly pulled herself to her feet, leaning against the wall for support, and Legolas noticed the slight tremors that shook her weak frame. She winced slightly as her back pressed against the stone, but her face remained set and she never looked away from the orc's glare.
"The master send me to ask you whether you have learned your lesson against insolence," the orc grunted, his face merely inches from the lady's.
"I don't know. If the master trusts your intelligence enough to send you on such important tasks such as getting answers from the petty prisoner, then shouldn't you be able to figure that out yourself?" she answered, sarcasm thick in her voice.
No sooner had these words left her tongue than a large buckled hand made contact with her cheek. Legolas and Aragorn both winced as the force of the blow send the lady's head banging into the wall behind her and the slap's sound echoed around the small room.
The elf's eyes prickled with tears from the impact as she slowly looked back up at the orc to fix his gaze again. Her cheek burned bright red where the orc had hit her and there were three small, yet deep, scratches from the buckled gloves. She locked her eyes on his face, ignoring the burning pain that numbed her face.
Legolas couldn't help but be amazed at the lady's force of will, and the sight of her fierce glare, combined with the lingering fear that the orcs would attack his friend again was barely enough to keep his temper down.
The orc grunted at the lady's vicious glare. "I see you have not yet learned your lesson. The master will not be pleased with this and you will suffer the consequences." The orc smiled crookedly in delight, and it took all the strength he had to keep Legolas from not jumping at his throat again and slicing it with his own knife. The orc grunted to his fellow kinsmen and loudly left the room, slamming the door shut behind them.
For a few moments, no one moved. The elf was obviously furious, and she breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down.
She was the first to break the silence. "At least I know you are real."
Both Aragorn and Legolas stayed silent. "I am Adariel. I suppose I should tell you, now that I know you will be staying. Adariel of the Golden Woods."
Both Aragorn and Legolas bowed their heads slightly and introduced themselves, softly, as if to not break the silence left after the orcs had gone.
"Are you-?" Aragorn started, taking a step towards Adariel to make sure she was alright, hand outstretched, offering support. To his surprise, however, the lady moved out the corner and away from his approach, ungluing herself from the wall, flinching slightly.
Aragorn stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing her reaction and backed off a little. He hadn't meant his approach to be seen as a threat, yet he supposed if he had been trapped in an underground and tortured for century, with nothing more than murderous orcs for company, he might possibly be a little twitchy, too.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"he began, but he was interrupted when Adariel shook her head, weakly waving a hand for him to stop.
"No. No, I am sorry. I ... old habits die hard," she said with a small apologetic smile.
Legolas moved forward hesitantly to stand next to his friend.
"Are you alright?" he repeated, softly.
The lady nodded. "Yes. Yes, I just..." She backed up, stumbling back towards the wall. A pale, shaky hand went up to her hand, as if trying to hold it steady. "I just need to..."
She blinked quickly, trying to clear her rapidly obscuring vision.
Legolas caught her before she hit the ground, and the last thing her cloudy mind remembered was being lowered down to the ground, and then Adariel knew no more
A/N Woohoo! I finally got it all typed up. Ok, I guess this is where you'll start to think that this is just yet another Legomance, but please read on, cuz it's not. It's not an Aragomance, either. In fact, so far, unless I completely change my mind or go crazy, it wont even be a -mance! Anyway, hoped you liked Adariel, she's one of my fave original characters, so hopefully you'll like her too! Now review review review!