Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Slayer3: I like happy dance.

Lintered: Yeah I can relate. I had a lot of teachers fooled too.

bob the great: Nice to see a new reviewer. I love you guys, and am glad to make you happy.

Karone Evertree: Mrhaha. Cryptic me? Never. Don't worry this chapter will answer your question. Yeah I imagined Legolas and Aragorn sneaking in and that line hit me. I just had to. The leeches thing was just too hard to resist. I love gross. I watch Fear Factor just to see what they are gonna eat next. Yes Atavus is getting her sight back. Yeah!

ashlyns: All these new reviewers. I'm ecstatic. Original is what I was going for. I'm glad you like Atavus. And I'm glad to say that I am pretty good at updating quick. Too much free time on my hands. I actually counted today and I have written 47 chapters in 2 months and 5 days. Whoa I definitely have too much free time. That's what happens when you stop sleeping.

FFAMasquerade2005: Okay now I am blushing. Wait a minute I'm evil. Evil isn't supposed to blush. Yeah right. Uhhh. Thanks.

Family Secrets

"You said it would be easy to find her." Legolas said as they turned yet another corner finding another set of steps leading down.

"How was I supposed to know this place went down so far into the ground? It looks small from the outside." Aragorn said listening intently to the shouts from above. Gimli had forwarded his orders to his men, and they had commenced the attack hours before.

"I just hope this place doesn't collapse before we find her." Legolas said sighing heavily. They had been walking down level by level for hours now. To his surprise they hadn't ran into even one orc, while searching the cells and torture pits they found.

"You're just upset because we are underground." Aragorn suggested. He knew Legolas had a great dread of caves, and anyplace that was underground away from nature and sunlight. And even though Sauron was gone the evil that had permeated Minas Morgul still was present within its walls.

"Aragorn if I could travel through Moria this should be easy." Legolas pointed out.

"Moria wasn't the same. The Balrog was its source of evil. But this place is evil Legolas." Aragorn observed.

"Yes I know. I don't understand how Atavus lived here for so long. No pure soul should have to withstand this for long." Legolas said making sure not to touch the walls. When he did it was as if he could hear screams from the past.

Manveri woke from the dream with sweat pouring down her frame. She hadn't had one of those dreams in such a long time. She had wondered if they had stopped all together. She knew she couldn't go to the pits until the orc called for her, but she had to tell Atavus what she had seen.

So she made her way to the pits hiding in one of the empty torture rooms near to where Atavus was being held, and then waited for the orc's visit to be over. She could hear his angry voice echoing through the pits. This would be a bad one.

"Why do you do this? All you have to do is tell me what I want and you will never feel pain again." The orc said angrily, staring at her blank eyes. He needed the information soon. The humans would breach his defenses within a few days, and he planned to be long gone before that. They could have the disgusting orcs for all he cared as long as he made it out with what he wanted.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She stated in a tight voice. He had brought orcs with him this time and they had manacled her to the wall, and then left their captain to his fun. Her ribs were on fire where he had been striking her with a burning club. Her tunic was singed where the embers had melted the material to her skin, and she could see sparks flying up as the club landed again against her stomach. She did not follow the sparks with her eyes, wanting him to believe she could see nothing still. But she could see clearer than ever before now.

The pain was unbelievable. Worse than she ever remembered from before. But she imagined him lying dead at her feet, and the vision was like a salve to her burning skin. "Why don't you tell me about our brother, Ugluk. You've said little about him." She said smiling knowing that the words would distract him from his true intentions.

"He was worthless, and now he's dead. What else do you want to know?" He shouted turning to throw the burning club to the ground. She could see the frustrated look on his face and grinned evilly enjoying how much she could play on his emotions.

"What did he look like?" She asked.

He turned to her not believing she could just sit there and have a normal conversation after he had burnt her so badly. She had masked the look on her face replacing it with a blank stare. "He looked like you." Was his response before he turned and left the room. For a moment she saw a pained expression on his face that made no sense to her.

"Manveri." She heard him yell as he strode angrily down the hall.

"Now that's an orc with serious family issues." She chuckled to herself.

"Atavus." Manveri rushed into the room with a distressed look on her face. The orc had tossed her the keys to the manacles as he passed her in the hall. She quickly removed the chains and helped her sit down.

"Help me with this." Atavus said pulling pieces of her tunic from the burnt skin on her stomach and ribs. She hissed in pain as pieces of skin pulled free also.

"We have burn cream. I'll have Van bring some down here." Manveri said standing.

"I don't know if he should see this Veri." She said using the nickname she had heard Van use, the night before.

"He's seen worse. Besides he's like you. He has the healing ability. He'll make a fine healer some day." Manveri insisted.

The night before her sight hadn't been very clear. But now she could see those that were helping her. Manveri was small in stature, and form. But she had the fair skin and hair of the Silvan elves. She reminded her of Legolas as she stared into the bright blue eyes. Then there was Van. He was a mystery to her. He had bright red curly hair as she did. She wondered how many of the new throwbacks had developed that trait. It was definitely not an elvish trait.

"Where are the others of our kind that you spoke of?" Atavus asked after the burns were treated.

"They live in the lowest level here. Only a few of us stay in the upper levels." Manveri said looking away.

"Why?" Atavus asked, seeing the woman's distress.

"Ugluk can't bear to see them. He allows me to remain up top to care for Van." She answered still avoiding Atavus' gaze.

"I'm confused." Atavus said looking at the small boy.

"He won't make his own son live below." Manveri said looking at the boy with a measure of pain in her eyes. Atavus could see the boys face lower in shame. Atavus could think of nothing to say at the confession. "He's the reason Ugluk tries so hard to get the information from you. He wants his son to be normal he says."

"He's never asked me what I want." The boy said angrily.

"Van is short for Atavan, the male version of your name. He told me once that the boy looked just like you. It made him angry." Manveri explained.

She understood it all then. The orc was obsessed with changing his son. Not only did the boy look like her, but going by his earlier words he must also look like the brother Ugluk had killed. She understood the pained expression she had seen earlier.

"Does he care for him at all or is he just obsessed with the orc son he didn't get?" She knew the question would possibly upset the boy, but she had to know.

She was surprised when the boy answered himself. "I am nothing to him if I can not be what he wants." The boy had learned that hard lesson way too early in life. "Is it true that you hold the key to what he wants for me?" The boy said in pure dread.

"Possibly yes." She answered not wanting to lie to the boy. She placed her hands on his shoulders looking into his emerald eyes. "I promise Van I will never give him that information. You deserve better than that."

"Thank you." The boy said somberly.

"I'm afraid there may be a problem with that." Manveri suggested remembering her dream from earlier.

"Why?" Atavus asked.

"We have unexpected company coming." The woman answered.

"What?"

"I see things Atavus. Each of us has a different gift. Some are healers, some have extra sensitive senses, and then there are those like me. I see things. I have visions. Sometimes they come to me in dreams. I saw two men searching Minas Morgul. One was a blond elf, the other a dark haired human. I think they are looking for you." Manveri explained.

"Legolas and Estel." Atavus said chewing her lip. "How did they know where to find me?" Then she thought about Manveri having visions and it reminded her of Elrond. "Ada." She whispered.

"Friends of yours?" Manveri asked.

"The best." She answered the smile crossing her face. "Hope is restored."

She saw Manveri shaking her head. "In my vision they were captured. It didn't look good for them."

The smile turned into a frown. "That can't happen Manveri. They are our only hope."

"You shouldn't rely on others for help. I have learned the hard way only to count on myself." Manveri said skeptically.

"There is a different world out there that you have never seen Veri. I have. And there are people who can be trusted with your very life. Legolas and Estel are that way." Atavus tried to convince her of something she had learned after leaving Minas Morgul. "I believed as you did when I first left this hell. I didn't know about the great wonders of Middle-Earth, or about the other races of this great land that contained beings like my friends."

"I don't understand your feelings for these outsiders. They are not of our race. I have learned to only trust your own." Manveri insisted.

"They are my own. They have accepted me as their family. They are as brothers to me. Manveri I would die for them, and them for me." She didn't know what else to say to convince her.

"Veri believe her. I do." Van said placing a hand on each woman's forearm calming the tension that was growing.

Manveri turned to Van smiling. "You are a good judge of character little one." Atavus could see the look of undisguised love that the woman held for the child.

"How came you to be caring for him?" Atavus asked.

Manveri smiled sending Van off to the kitchen to find some food for Atavus, and then turned to answer her question.

"What was the penalty for giving birth to a throwback when you were born?" She asked.

"The boys mother." Atavus said realizing what the words meant. "But what of Ugluk? He should have been killed also."

"He killed her himself to please the master. Then he started collecting our kind bringing them here." Veri said with a coldness in her voice. "He gave the child to me to care for. After Sauron was defeated Ugluk returned to rule here, sending out hundreds of orcs to find you."

"That must have happened soon after I left Minas Morgul. I was the only one here at the time." Atavus realized how close she had been to finding the others, but if she hadn't left she would have never been accepted into the family of Lord Elrond, and never would have discovered her talent as a healer. She would find a way to take them away from this evil place even if it killed her to do so. She vowed it to herself.

Author's Note: All the wonderful reviews spurred me to write this chapter sooner than normal. When you feel creative go with it. It doesn't always last.