Disclaimer: If they decide to give them to me I'll let you know. But for now they aren't mine.

Review Responses:

ZELINIA: Thank you. I pride myself on my torture methods. Man that sounds bad. Oh well I guess if the shoe fits. I have to admit when I'm backed into a corner I turn to sarcasm as a defense. So that's where Atavus gets it. Little Van is a lot like Atavus too.

Slayer3: Proof positive. Bribery does work.

Lintered: Yes I had to leave the horrible cliffy. And no I don't believe that you are that cruel at all. (Cough, yeah right, cough.)

ashlyns: Begging is good.

Larien: I have this bad habit of making people pity my bad guys. But just a little. Yep no more babies and eventually the race will disappear. Eventually.

Are you right or are you wrong? Well I'll just say that sometimes looks are only skin deep. Actually I partially meant Aragorn's lines to Ugluk to be taunts. I just see him as wanting to antagonize the orc into a true fight.

Yes Van is very brave, even though he is naïve in thinking that he could stop Ugluk from killing her. He hasn't gained Manveri's slightly cynical attitude from living the life of a throwback yet. He is a hero in his heart.

Karone Evertree: No, no wargs this time. Van makes such a brave little hero doesn't he? I just love him. He is what all little boys dream of being, but never get the chance.

Author's Note: Warning another cliffhanger. Sorry.

The Vision

Minas Morgul had only one clean water source. Manveri entered the well room. The room was actually a vertical shaft that ran from the upper levels down to an underground spring hundreds of feet below. Each level had access to the shaft. Almost the entire floor of the room was open shaft. There was just a small ledge that ran around the sides. She tossed the bucket that was attached to a stake with a long rope down into the spring below.

Her mind raced through the events that were unfolding in her life as she pulled the bucket back up. She wanted to help Atavus and her friends, but she had always just looked out for Van and the other throwbacks. Besides what could she do against the orcs? She was too confused.

She stared at the wall across from where she was kneeling pulling the bucket up hand over hand, when it started. Her eyes glazed over as the vision took her.

Van was kneeling in front of Atavus facing his father. She could see that Atavus had been beaten badly.

"It doesn't matter to me to die Father. But I will never be like you. I hate what you are. And I hate you." She heard the small child's voice tremble at the words.

Then her view changed as if she was seeing from the eyes of the child. She could see the angry glare on the orcs face. She could see the orcs hand rise to strike the child. She felt the blow as if it had happened to her. But then she felt two strong arms surround her pulling down and away from the orc. A body flew over that of the child and impacted with the orc overbalancing him. She could see Atavus land on top of the orc pounding his face with her fists. How she had summoned the strength for the attack was a mystery to Manveri. But she watched in horror as the orc gained the upper hand rolling her over and pinning her to the ground.

She saw blood splatter the wall next to where they were as he punched her in the face. She could see the insane look in the orc's eyes. The boy's words had finally made him snap. She could hear the screams of rage from the man and elf on the tables but that did not deter the orc. She watched as he withdrew his knife and poised it above the defenseless woman.

She wanted to scream out, to do anything to stop what she was seeing, but she could not control the small body she was seeing this horror from. The knife plunged deep into Atavus' chest, and she could see the light in her eyes fade. She could see the rise and fall of her chest cease. She was dead.

The orc stood pulling the knife from her lifeless body and turned towards the boy.

Manveri heard the splash as the bucket she had been hoisting up fell to the water below. Her eyes cleared and it took all the balance she possessed to keep from falling into the shaft before her.

She reached her hand up and felt liquid on her face. She half expected it to be blood from where the orc had struck the boy, but when she pulled her hand back it was covered with her own tears. She stood turning back to the hallway leading to the torture pits. She started running, praying she could reach the room in time.

She stopped abruptly looking into the room. She could see the back of the orc before her. His hand was raised. She couldn't tell if he still held the knife. She didn't look around the room. She didn't want to see Atavus' dead body. She didn't want to see the grief stricken faces of her friends. She just knew she must save Van at any cost.

She could see the orc's short sword in its scabbard on his side. She rushed forward and with a fluid motion grasped the sword pulling it from the scabbard. He had felt the movement at his side and swung around facing her. But he was not quick enough as she plunged the sword into his chest. He howled in rage and pain as she pushed the sword through to its hilt. In her shock at her own actions she forgot to let go of the sword and was pulled to the floor as he fell backwards.

She looked over the orcs body and saw Van's shocked face. He was alive and well. That's all that mattered to her at the moment. But she was surprised to see two strong arms wrap around his chest pulling him back comfortingly. Her gaze followed the arms up to the shoulders and then on to the face. Atavus sat behind the boy holding him, whispering soothing words to the boy.

"But…but." Manveri started to say in shock.

Atavus looked to her not understanding the sudden paling of her skin, and the confused expression of her face. "Manveri you look as if you've seen a ghost."

"I saw him kill you." Manveri whispered.

Atavus and Van both realized what she meant. She heard the sob rip from the boy's throat. He was devastated. He knew Manveri had done what was necessary to save them but the orc was still his father. He had said he hated him, but he hadn't. And it felt wrong that he didn't.

Atavus didn't have the strength left to fight the child as he pulled away from her and bolted out the door.

"Van." Manveri screamed trying to grab him, but he was too fast. She was about to stand and follow him when the room began to shake.

They all heard it begin. The structure was failing from the assault above. Manveri didn't know about the attack taking place on the upper levels. Pieces of ceiling began to crumble around them "What is that?" She whispered looking around.

"That is my men breaching this structure." Aragorn spoke up. "We must leave here immediately."

"But Van." Manveri said looking back to the open door the boy had fled from.

"Veri you know where the others are being held. Get Ugluk's keys. Take Aragorn and Legolas with you. They will help you free the others. I think I know where Van is. I'll find him." Atavus knew where she would have hid if she was the boy.

"No I can't leave him." Veri pleaded.

"Veri we aren't going to leave him. He's upset Veri. He won't come with you now." Atavus didn't want to make her friend feel guilty, but it was the only way to reason with her. She bent down pulling the keys from Ugluk's belt and tossed them to Veri, and then helped her to remove the straps confining her friends. Aragorn helped Legolas across the room to the open door. He looked back to her not sure of her idea.

"I'll meet you outside. I promise. Please Estel get Legolas out." She could see the difficulty her friend was having moving. He had lost too much blood and was very weak.

"I'll hold you to that promise. Don't make me come back in here." He said smiling.

She smiled back at him and then pushed them through the door.

She took one last look at the orc. Her anger had been replaced by what she could only consider to be pity. Things could have been so different. She new then in her heart that he had been a throwback like her. Just because he had the physical characteristics of the orcs did not change what was inside him. But years of being trained to the hatred of the orcs had taken from him what could have been his only salvation.

She turned away from the sight heading out the door and in the opposite direction of where her friends had gone. She knew all the hiding places in Minas Morgul. She had searched them out as a child, and she knew of only one on the level they were on.

As she entered the well room she looked around at the walls surrounding the shaft seeing what she was looking for. On the far side of the room there was a small boulder, which she knew covered a hole in the wall that was little more than a three-foot crawl space. She remembered the ledge leading around the shaft as being larger when she was a child, she thought as she slid along it trying to get to the other side, which was wider.

She grasped tighter to the rough wall as the room began to shake from another barrage up above. Rock from hundreds of feet above began to fall down the shaft narrowly missing her. "Ilúvatar please let the boy be in that crawlspace." She whispered

After the shaking had stopped and the rocks had stopped falling she moved to the ledge and made her way to the boulder pushing it aside. She kneeled before the crawlspace and could see movement towards the back. "Van. Honey is that you?" She reached in placing her hand on the boys trembling arm.

"Go away. This is my hiding place." He said petulantly. She could hear the tears in his voice.

"I know Van. It was mine when I was your size. But it is too small for me now." She said stroking his arm. "I know you feel safe here Van. But you can't stay here. Did you feel that shaking before? The whole roof is coming down. We have to leave."

"I don't want to leave." He whimpered.

"But Van. Don't you want to see what else this world has to offer you?" She knew she could pull him out of the hole, but then she'd lose his trust. After everything he had been through she couldn't do that to him.

"Like what?" He asked suppressing his sniffles.

"Like beautiful lands, delicious foods, and wonderful animals that are friendly." She said trying to think of all the things little boys liked.

The boy wondered at her words. The only animals that he had ever seen were wargs and they definitely were not friendly. "Really?"

"Yes really. All you have to do is come with me, and I promise to show you all those things and more." She wondered for a moment if her ploy had worked as he was silent, but was surprised as he jumped into her arms, almost knocking her backwards.

"Lets go." She whispered ruffling his hair. Then she turned around meaning to head back around the ledge, but froze seeing something she had definitely not expected.

Author's Note: I think I better hide again. Between the vision and the cliffhanger you guys are going to kill me. Anyway just one more chapter to go on this fic. So hold on to your hats. The next one is going to be a surprise.