Chapter 4: Torture
"I am Lord Nelkoo," the middle-aged man said to Aragorn. "You will follow me and I will take you to your new home. Don't you dare give me any problems, for I have no problem with beating one of my slaves."
Aragorn found himself liking this man less and less. "Yes, your lordship," he responded meekly. He figured that as long as he played the humble servant he would be able to escape.
Lord Nelkoo nodded and grabbed one of Aragorn's chains. "Follow me."
Aragorn did as he was told, trying to figure out when he would be able to get away from this man.
Lord Nelkoo stopped at a carriage and tied Aragorn to it. "You better keep up, otherwise you will be dragged."
Aragorn nodded. He tried to give off the appearance of a frightened slave. He was slightly scared, but he was becoming annoyed with how evil this man seemed to be. He was sure that if he had met Lord Nelkoo before he had been made a slave he would be treated differently. "Yes, your lordship."
Lord Nelkoo looked at Aragorn. "What is your name? They said your past was unknown and that they didn't know your name."
Aragorn paused for a moment, what name could he give this man? He decided on his elven name. "I am Estel."
The man nodded. "Well Estel, I hope you are fast."
Aragorn bowed his head while his new master climbed into his carriage. He decided he would have to make some lock picks before he could escape. He figured the shackles would be removed; he had seen the slave traders give his master the keys. He doubted that his slave collar would be taken off though. Lord Nelkoo had been given the key, but he knew most masters enjoyed keeping the collars on their slaves.
The horses began to trot and Aragorn had to jog to keep from falling face first into the dirt. In his mind he was going over possible ways to escape. If only he could find out where he was and what was going to happen to him. He remembered the slave traders back in Bree talking about Lord Nelkoo and how he beat his slaves. Aragorn sighed; he hoped it wasn't a daily ritual.
The horses stopped and Aragorn was jerked to a stop. It took good reflexes and fast movements for him to keep from hitting his head on the carriage wheels. He found that he was incredibly tired. He guessed that they hadn't traveled for more than two miles, but he was feeling incredibly weak. He decided it was because he hadn't eaten anything when he had been unconscious.
The door to the carriage opened and Lord Nelkoo stepped out and untied Aragorn from the carriage. "Follow me; we need to get your clothes. I will not have you walking in front of my daughter in that." He looked pointedly at the loincloth.
Aragorn nodded and followed him into the building. He decided that once he knew more about Lord Nelkoo's family he would know what to expect in his treatment.
When they entered the building Lord Nelkoo led Aragorn downstairs towards a set of rooms. "You will stay in here. Tomorrow you will go to one of the guards for…initiation." He smiled cruelly and Aragorn doubted he wanted to know what initiation was. "Stick out your arms." He quickly unlatched Aragorn's shackles on both his ankles and wrists. "Go inside and get changed, you will find clothes in the closet."
Aragorn entered the rooms and shut the door behind him. He saw three other men were in the room and were lying on floor pallets. He went to the closet and found breeches and a tunic that would fit him. When he had clothes on he turned to look at the three men. "Hello."
They looked up at him and smiled thinly.
"You're the new kid?" the oldest of them asked. When Aragorn nodded the man continued. "What's your name?"
"I'm Estel." Aragorn replied.
The man nodded. "I'm Delin, this here is Ceslon," he pointed to the youngest of them. "And that is Zander." He pointed to a man that looked to be only a year older than Ceslon.
"What are your duties?" Ceslon asked.
Aragorn shook his head. "I don't know. I was told that I am to report to the guards tomorrow for initiation."
All three of the men whistled and looked at Aragorn sadly.
"Have you ever been whipped before?" one of them asked.
Aragorn shook his head. "No, I've never been a slave before either," he said bitterly.
The men looked at him.
"Where are you from, Estel?" Ceslon asked.
"The north," Aragorn replied.
The three nodded.
"You said you've never been whipped before?" Zander asked.
Aragorn nodded slowly. "I haven't ever been beaten with a whip."
"It isn't a pleasant experience. The guards do it to show you who's boss. Lord Nelkoo enjoys trying to break his slaves. Thinks it makes them more submissive," Ceslon told him.
Aragorn nodded. He would not be broken; he would not allow them to rule his spirit. He might be a slave, but he would not be a shell of the person he used to be. "What are your duties?"
"I work the bellows, Ceslon works the fields, and Delin works in the stables," Zander told him "If you're lucky you'll end up in the stables."
"He might work as a bodyguard. Lord Nelkoo was talking about getting a new one since Velna died," Zander commented.
"What happened to Velna?" Aragorn asked.
"She was old and got sick," Ceslon replied.
"You ought to sleep, Estel. Tomorrow you are going to get the beating of your life," Delin informed him.
"That is a pleasant thought to go to sleep to," Aragorn remarked dryly.
"Scream after the third lash," Ceslon advised. "They will let up."
Aragorn nodded. It sounded like good advice but he knew he would not do that. He would not allow himself to do something so submissive. He crawled into the vacant bed and fell asleep quickly. It wasn't hard since his body was so tired.
Legolas exited Lord Elrond's study. He had just finished telling him about what he and Aragorn had learned in Bree. Lord Elrond hadn't been pleased to know something so horrible was happening there.
Elladan walked over to Legolas and draped his arm around the prince's shoulders. "Elrohir and I are going to ride to the Rangers tomorrow. Would you like to ride with us?"
Legolas smiled at Elladan but shook his head. "I am sorry; I promised Estel that I would return to Bree as soon as I gave your father the information. He will be waiting for me."
Elladan smiled. "Will you two come back here?"
Legolas nodded. "Yes, more than likely."
"When you get there, would you give this to Estel?" Elladan took a dagger out of his pocket and placed it in Legolas' hand. "I borrowed it and I think he might want it back."
Legolas rolled his eyes and closed his hand around the hilt of the dagger. "I will give it to him."
"You must get some rest Legolas," Elladan commented. He noticed how the prince looked slightly tired and how his eyes were drooping. "I know you did not sleep last night; I could hear you pacing."
Legolas smiled slightly. "I will get some rest. It will be night soon anyway." He walked down the hall towards the room that he normally stayed in when he visited.
Elladan shook his head as he watched the prince walk down the halls. He was a good friend; Elladan felt good knowing that Legolas was friends with Aragorn.
Aragorn woke to someone shaking him. He remembered the events of the previous day and quickly got out of bed. He saw Ceslon putting some boots on his feet and quickly did the same. "Where do I go to see the guards?"
"I'll show you," Zander said.
Aragorn nodded and followed Zander out of the room. "What are they going to do to me?"
Zander shook his head. "You don't want to know."
Aragorn had to try hard to keep from shaking. He had never been whipped before. He'd never been tortured of any sort. His brothers had hurt him during their sparring and he had been shot, but never had he been tortured. He had been in pain many times, but never had they been on purpose. He didn't like the idea of getting down on his knees and getting lashed.
"Go inside; do not look them in the eyes," Zander advised before scurrying off to do his duties.
Aragorn took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Look, there's the new slave!" a deep voice called.
Aragorn looked up to see a very wicked looking man walking towards him. He saw one other man in the room and he wore an identical evil look. Aragorn could understand how these two had been assigned the role of beating and torturing the slaves.
One of the men grabbed Aragorn and yanked his hair so that he could get a better look of his face. "Oh he's still a young thing. In his early twenties, I'd say."
"Good, it means his body can take the beating I've got planned for his initiation," the other one said.
The guard who was pulling Aragorn's hair shoved Aragorn toward the other man. "Chain him down, Bulon."
Bulon nodded and grabbed Aragorn roughly before forcing him onto his knees. "Get down, Slave!"
Aragorn was twisting and fighting. He had paid attention on how to get up to this room and he didn't want to be here any longer. He kicked out at the man but was slapped across the face. Apparently Bulon was a lot stronger than he looked.
Bulon kicked Aragorn's knees out from under him and quickly chained his ankles down to the floor manacles. He removed Aragorn's shirt and secured his wrists down to the floor as well. He kicked Aragorn in the chest. "That was for trying to escape."
Aragorn stifled the groan that was trying to free itself from his lips. He was on his hands and knees in front of two men who were getting ready to beat him.
"What should we use first, Plos?" Bulon asked.
Plos shrugged. "How about this one?"
Bulon must have nodded because Aragorn could hear a whip being cracked in the air behind him.
"How does this look to you, Slave?" Plos asked. He was holding a single-tailed whip with tiny thorns on it in front of Aragorn.
Aragorn closed his eyes at the sight of it. He could not believe this was happening to him. 'What did I do to deserve this?' he asked himself. Without warning the whip licked Aragorn's back, yanking the young man out of his thoughts. He clenched his jaw shut, trying his hardest not to let a sound escape his lips.
"He must be enjoying it," Bulon said. "Why don't you do your best, Plos?"
Plos smiled and allowed the whip to linger on Aragorn's back for just a second before ripping it off slowly and painfully.
Aragorn moaned from the pain it caused and arched his back upwards. He was pulling against his bonds by the fiftieth lash. The pain he was feeling was dreadful.
"Aw, poor thing. I think he's a little hurt," Bulon cooed. "Too bad you haven't even gotten started yet."
Aragorn couldn't help but groan at the sound of that. If this was the beginning, then there had to be more pain to come.
"Don't worry, Slave. We haven't finished," Plos said when he finished whipping Aragorn. "It's Bulon's turn now."
Bulon smiled evilly at Aragorn and chose a torture device for himself. He picked up a vial of white powder and rubbed it on one of the lashes. "The sting will linger for hours," he said cruelly. "Don't worry though, you'll get used to it."
Aragorn shut his eyes tightly at the pain that shot through his body as soon as the lash touched him. At the end of Bulon's session Aragorn was screaming in pain. He felt as though he was going to collapse soon, but the manacles that were holding him in place would not allow his body to crumple. Instead it just held him stiff.
"That's enough for this one. We don't want to kill him," Plos said.
Bulon nodded and cleaned the lash whilst Plos unlocked the manacles that were binding Aragorn.
"Get up, Slave!" Bulon roared when Aragorn fell to the floor.
"Poor thing's all tired," Plos said wickedly. He kicked Aragorn in the chest.
"Kicking me isn't going to get me to stand," Aragorn said hoarsely as he got to his feet shakily.
Plos punched Aragorn across the face. "You'll speak when spoken to!"
Aragorn was too weak say anything but he didn't flinch at the sound of Plos' voice. The guards hadn't broken him.
"Get to your chambers. Tomorrow you start work in the house as bodyguard to Lady Linari," Bulon said.
Aragorn nodded and walked from the room and towards the room he shared. He needed to wash his wounds and bind them before they got infected. He was hungry; he hoped he would find food before he reached his rooms.
No Time for revier respsonses! I am so sorry guys! I wish I had the time. I love all of you and look forward to all of your wonderful reviews! Please review!
