Disclaimer: See chap. 1.

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manveri mirkiel: Orc, what orc? I don't see an orc. Oh that one. (Looking into mirror.)

Poor Atavus has almost had all she can take, but there is so much more to learn. At least by the end of the last chapter she was holding on, but by the end of this one she may not be so confident. Uglúk did say that there was another reason for hating her.

Well in Blood it was Legolas that always comforted Atavus, and I didn't want anyone to think I was being biased toward a certain to die for elf. There is a reason why Leggy is the one who is being tortured. Since Estel is a healer he can take care of Legolas easier than if it was the other way around, and because I always torture the character I love the most. Shhhhhhh.

Yes Uglúk killed his own brother. I told you, you could hate him more. And about his mother I knew I forgot something. I went back and changed that. She was not killed because they were not in Minas Morgul. The Nazgul wasn't there to order her death. They actually were living in an orc encampment somewhere in Mordor. But even though they weren't killed her and both children were treated pretty poorly by the other orcs, because of her choice.

By the way you will never be able to hide Pippin from me completely. When I'm ready for him, I'll find him.

Slayer3: Making point to find that trailer for Kingdom of Heaven today. (Says sticking tongue out at Slayer)

Karone Evertree: I think we would all like to play 'Kill the orc' at this point, but can't yet, I still need him.

Author's Note: Hmmm, how do I say this? In the last couple of days, I have been attacked by plot bunnies. So things might take some unexpected changes in the rest of the chapters. Just as a warning you might want to hold on to your hats. Some surprises to come. /…/ Denote elvish translations.

Devastating News

Estel moved through the tunnels cautiously. He did not know whether there were other orcs lurking in the shadows. He heard many noises but they seemed to come from a different part of the tunnels, then where he traveled. He had to carry Legolas over one shoulder so he could keep his sword arm ready just in case. The elf never woke as he traveled along the passages. It took only a few hours to find his way out of the tunnels, since he knew where he was going this time. After leaving the caves he moved a short distance away and then placed his friend on the ground, so he could treat the horrible wounds.

Estel washed the cuts clean, hoping that there would be no infection. He could see a white crystalline substance on his skin and in some of the cuts. When he realized that it was salt he knew why his friend had cried out. Though the substance would not harm his friend, it did cause severe pain in an open cut. He made sure to wash the salt out also. He was concerned at the fact that the elf did not wake at all as he treated the wounds. He feared that the blood loss and trauma from pain was too much to bring the elf back.

"Legolas. Lasto mellon-nin, tolo dan nan galad. Im boe le an nin." / Legolas. Listen my friend, come back to the light. I need you with me. / He said brushing the elf's golden hair from his face. There was no response. "You need to help me decide what to do. I can't leave you here alone like this, but I promised Atavus that I would come back for her." Still no response.

Estel knew his friend was far from danger, and the only place he would really be safe would be Rivendell. His own body would have to heal the wounds that covered his chest, stomach and arms, and it would take time. But the walk to Rivendell would take at least three days. He looked to Legolas, then back to the cave entrance. It was an impossible decision, but one he would have to make on his own. But hadn't Atavus really already made it for him?

"I'm sorry Atavus. You'll just have to hold on for a few days. I will be back." He whispered hoping she could hold on that long.


"Drop your weapons to the floor." The orc commanded, still holding the knife to her throat.

She did as the orc asked. "So Uglúk, where are the rest of your soldiers? It seemed awful quite in the tunnels as we made our way here."

"They will be back. After they brought me your friend, I sent them out to find you." That was what Atavus had been hoping to find out. What the orc didn't know was that Estel and her had already dispatched his men. Her friends would have a clear path out of there. Now she just needed to stall him long enough to give them a decent head start.

"Hmm. I know you want to play some games, but can we finish the discussion we started earlier. What is your other reason for hating my kind?" The question startled the orc. He wanted to reveal his last secret, but had planned on waiting until she was weak from torture to do so. She could feel the pressure from the knife at her throat slacken as he tried to decide what to say. That was the opportunity she needed.

She reached up with one hand sliding under his, pulling the knife away from her throat. Then bent and with the other hand grasped her dagger out of it's ankle sheath, which he hadn't noticed was there. With lightning quick moves she spun around, and imbedded the dagger in his ribcage, but it wasn't enough to stop the beast. In the next moment he pulled his own knife hand free, and sliced down cutting a deep slash across her shoulder. Atavus pulled back, but was unable to retrieve her knife from his ribs.

Uglúk reached down and pulled the knife from his own ribs. He then held both knives, and she was unarmed. She had wanted to pierce his lung, but his breathing was not affected.

"Yet again you miss the mark Throwback." He smiled edging closer to where she stood in a defensive posture.

"I won't miss again." She vowed. She began to circle the room keeping out of his reach as best as possible. But she could tell he was just playing with her. His blows were not aimed to kill.

He ducked in closer seeing she was too close to the wall to back up, then slashed from side to side laying a shallow cut across her ribs. She knew he could have finished her then, but did not. She grasped her ribs feigning more pain than was actually true, then dropped to the floor. He pushed his way closer, but at that moment she used her leg to swipe his out from under him.

She was close to the door. She saw her chance then, and took it. She scrambled out the door looking back to make sure he'd follow her. He did. She turned to the left using a different tunnel than the one Estel had taken. She would draw the orc away from them then find her own way out. She could hear his heavy steps as they followed her.

She traveled for many hours, but it seemed as if she went deeper into the mountain instead of heading out. She stopped to rest for a moment, knowing the orc was quite a distance behind her, and didn't seem in too much of a hurry to catch up to her. "You know Atavus, you're going to be quite tired when you come to this tunnel's dead end."

"You lie." She called out then continued on, but sure enough after a few hundred feet further the tunnel did dead end. She kicked the wall in disgust, uttering quite a few dwarvish curses.

She turned looking back the way she came, and leaned against the wall. If she were going to have to fight her way out she would need to conserve her strength. The tunnel was no wider than three feet, so she knew it would be hard to fight in the small space.

After several moments she could see him coming. She noticed that he no longer held the knives, but instead had a whip in one hand and a wooden club in the other. Her knife was attached to his belt. She could tell it was hers. The handle had intricate elvish words engraved in it. It had been a present from Legolas. This would be fun, she thought to herself. If only she could reach her knife, she would have a chance.

But that was not to be. He rushed her landing the club in her stomach. She had tried to deflect the blow, but he had more strength than she did. She did double over in pain this time. She soon learned that, that was exactly as he intended, as she felt the first lash of the whip across her back. He had thrown the club behind himself. If she could reach that club, just maybe…. She tried to scramble by his legs, but was kicked back towards the dead end. She hit hard against the dirt wall.

He then resumed with the whip seeing that she was even further winded. She still made no noise, as he brought the whip down on her back again and again. She tried several times to get by him, but earned a kick every time. She soon became too weak to try as more and more blood trickled down her back. He didn't stop until she collapsed to the floor.

Then he kneeled beside her. He pulled her hair back so he could see her face. It was hard to tell what was dirt smudges, and what were bruises. "Are you ready to listen to what I have to say now?"

She did not answer him. She peered up at him with a look of disgust on her face, and then looked down again. "Good. You wanted to know why I hate your race so much. Well guess what, it's not your race I hate, but you in particular." Atavus could not guess why that was so, but she still kept silent, willing the pain in her body to go away.

"I'm going to tell you why now. You see I told you about my brother, but what I didn't tell you is that several years later, after our encampment was moved to Minas Morgul she dared to have another child. It was just the same as the other, except it was a girl. They killed my mother, which meant no difference to me really. She was weak and stupid, but they gave the girl child to the slaves to raise." He had pulled her face up to watch as he said the words.

Atavus was thinking slowly because of the damage that he had caused, and he could see the confused look on her face. "Your as stupid as she was. Don't you see, that girl child was you? But the Nazgul would not allow me to kill you."

She heard his words, but refused to believe him. She shook her head violently knocking his hand from her chin. "No." She screamed.

"You can deny it all you want, but it is true." He watched her enjoying the mental torture as much as the physical.

Living with the elves and studying under Lord Elrond, had given her the ability to hear a lie for what it was, and she could hear no lie in his words. She turned her face to the dirt floor, silently screaming in her head. How could the Valar do this to her? What had she done to deserve it? She had always known that her parents had been orcs, but it had never seemed real; until she was forced to look a member of her own blood in the eyes. She had never felt more disgusted, about her own identity than she did that moment. Though they looked different, her and the orc were actually the same. No she did not have his vindictive, perverse nature. But if she had been raised the same as he she might have. But there was something she had gotten from her orc blood, something that was quite like the orcs. That was her temper, her anger, and her rage. She could feel her blood start to boil, as her anger increased. Yes the orc beside her was her brother, but he had killed her other brother. The one person who could truly understand what it was like to be what she was, was gone, and nothing she did could bring him back, but she would have revenge.

She looked back towards him and could see he was gloating over her pain. That's when she decided to strike. She pushed the physical pain away and concentrated on the mental anguish that was feeding her anger. She sprung up from where she was lying, springing towards his kneeling form. She knocked him off balance, landing on top of him. Her hand landed on the knife attached to his belt. She pulled the knife and with faster than lightning moves buried it in his ribs on the opposite side of where she had stabbed before. This time though she was pleased to see blood trickle from the corner of his mouth as he coughed. "Your dieing orc. How does it feel?" She taunted.

"Horrible freak. But you just showed me that your more like an orc than you thought." He said coughing more, not trying to push her off of him.

"How's that?" She asked, confusion crossing her face again.

He held up his hands. They were empty. She hadn't seen him drop the whip. "You just killed an unarmed foe. That makes you a murderer. That makes you one of us."

She pushed herself up, looking down at the orc. He could see the strange look on her face. It almost looked like regret. "I'll never be like you." She whispered then took off down the tunnel not looking back.


Author's Note: Well should I duck now or later. Did anyone see that comeing? So manveri, are you sure you don't hate Ugluk just a little bit more?