Hell Sweet Hell
Slowly, Raumo turned; his face illuminated frighteningly by the flames. When he saw the beautiful blonde creature before him, his eyes lit, in spite of her actual appearance, and his smile reminded one of true evil. Flicking his gaze towards the edhel, he said, "Bring her closer, Alasseo. I want a close-up view."
Fury rose in Alasseo's throat, but he knew better and did what he was bid. The poor elleth shivered, though he had no way of knowing if it was caused by cold or fear. He watched as Raumo turned from the fire and walked over to the woman, slowly circling her much like a vulture circles his dead prey.
"She will be quite beautiful once she's cleaned up a bit, don't you think?" As he asked this, his hands were roaming her body and his eyes closely followed his hands as though he were trying to memorize her. They wandered over her breasts, her stomach, her rear, and then, to complete her humiliation, her most private of places. Aranel would have squirmed, but she was too afraid of this man, so she just let her mind go blank.
Without allowing Alasseo any time to answer his question, he continued. "Yes, she'll do quite perfectly in my quest for conquer. Quite perfectly." He turned his gaze from his new prize to his second and ordered him to show her to her new accommodations. "It is in the west tower." Turning back to Aranel, he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear. "I have a great desire for power, my dear one. You have great power." He stopped and ran his tongue from her chin back to her ear; his hand wandering down her waistband. She could feel the nausea rising again and she almost hoped that she would vomit right there on his lovely silk robes, regardless of how humiliating it would be. "You will be of great advantage to me." With that, he motioned for Alasseo to take her away.
Gently taking Aranel by the arm, Alasseo led her out of the room and down the hall towards the west tower. She followed next to the he-elf, Alasseo, quietly. She felt dirty everywhere from the man's touch; dirty, disgusting and violated. No one had ever touched her in that manner before and she had the sinking fear that he would demand more than his touches from her.
As they continued their trek to the west tower, Aranel tried desperately to ignore the powerful shiver she felt overcoming her. She was freezing cold from the wet cell and in excruciating pain as well as angry and, frankly, absolutely terrified. She still had no idea where she was and even less of an idea as to why she was there.
Unfortunately, with every step they took, the more powerful the shaking became until she could no longer hide it from Alasseo. Idly, Aranel wondered if he noticed as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself in an effort to still the trembles. Still, the nausea fought to take control of her again.
In an effort to direct attention away from her uncontrollable shivering, Aranel turned her head to Alasseo and said, "Please, sir." She stopped unsure if he would allow her to speak, and when he didn't seem to object, she continued. "Where is this place? Why am I here?" Her voice was so soft that she barely believed that he had heard her. In spite of the fact that he did not mean her any harm, she was still slightly afraid of Alasseo.
He wondered if she had actually listened to anything Lord Raumo had said in that room. He sighed deeply, completely unhappy about the information he would inevitably need to tell her. "The master of this place believes that you wield some useful power, and he wants it, in any way possible. That is the reason you are here." His voice was gruff, and more so than he would have preferred.
Turning his head slightly, he saw her trying to still her shivering and shoved his cloak into her arms. "Here. I cannot have you falling ill on me." He said it as an excuse; he didn't want her to know he felt pity towards her and anger that she was allowed to become as she was: ill, weak, and beaten. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, though, he mentally slapped himself. 'Elves don't get sick, you idiot!' Aranel slowly put the warm cloak around her shaking body and muttered her thanks.
After walking for a few more minutes, they came to a plain wooden door. Alasseo stopped and opened the door, gesturing for Aranel to enter. "This will be your room. His lordship wishes you to be relatively comfortable during your 'stay' here in the hopes of you being more cooperative. If there is anything you desire within reason, pull the cord beside your bed. The attached bell will alert someone that you require something. I will send a healer in to see what can be done about your wounds." As soon as he finished, Alasseo turned on his heel and left the room, but not before securely locking the door, effectively quashing all hopes of escape for Aranel.
Failon rode continuously at a gallop for three miles before he slowed Lírë and Meldi walked up beside them. He pushed his hood back and looked around at his surroundings; shifting uncomfortably in the saddle when he saw that the forest seemed to get darker the closer he went towards his destination. He looked back at the feeling of an approaching shadow, but quickly realized that it was he who was approaching the shadow. He pressed on, however, at a slower pace, not wishing to pass his destination. He had no idea how where in the forest it was and he knew that this forest was large and therefore, it could be anywhere.
Aranel stood in front of the closed door looking around her, trying to take in both her surroundings and what Alasseo had just told her. She was having trouble making anything of his words. 'He's after my power!' Her thoughts were frustrated and giving her a headache. A grin slowly spread over her filthy face, though, at Alasseo's comment about her not falling ill. 'Everyone, most especially an elf, knows that elves never became ill.'
Finally, she made her way over to the bed and sat down on the slightly dusty quilt. Throwing herself back, she thought about how she would escape this place. She quickly realized, though, that without help, she would not be escaping. She became angry; angry at herself for being so afraid, angry at herself for being caught, and the more she thought about why she was here, the angrier she became at this 'Lord'. The angrier she became, the better she felt. The horrible fear was not been normal for her, but she was sure that she would forever fear this new Lord.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door…more like a banging…which caused her to bolt upright and a tiny woman entered the room, bustling her way over to Aranel, who just sat there in a state of shock.
"Take off your clothes, dear." She continued to sort through her supplies, but looked up when Aranel didn't move. "I need to be able to look at you, dear, to help you." The woman smiled at her and went back to what she had been doing. Aranel slowly stripped off her shredded clothes down to her undergarments. Out of the blue, the little woman stood and turned around, a contrite expression on her face. "How rude of me! My name is Rýn, dear. Let's get you a bath first." She had taken a look at how filthy the she-elf was and decided that there was no way in all of Middle-Earth that she could do anything until she was clean. Rýn went to the door and had a hot bath brought in.
"Aranel," she said softly and sat back down on the bed. When the bath arrived, Rýn made her strip completely and climb in the tub. She left the room saying she would be back in an hour.
Aranel made good use of that hour not only washing off layers of dirt, but scrubbing her skin red and raw where Raumo had touched her. She then climbed out of the tub and found some clean undergarments to put on. She decided against dressing anymore than that because she knew the healing woman would tell her to remove it.
When she returned, Rýn bustled over to her and had her lay down. She spent the next twenty minutes poking and prodding, putting salve on this wound and ointment on that cut. Aranel lay quietly, until the healer touched her severely injured leg. She hissed loudly in pain and yanked her leg back. Rýn looked at her questioningly and asked, "What happened to your leg?" When Aranel looked as though she was going to refuse to answer, she said, "Don't lie to me, dear. I am well aware that you were tortured down there. Did they crush it?"
Knowing that avoiding an answer or lying would get her nowhere, she nodded her head. The tiny woman then proceeded to slather on some salve and wrap her leg tightly in a splint and some cloth. After her leg was taken care of, Rýn sat Aranel in a chair and proceeded to clean her head wound. Aranel winced, but the pain was not too great for the wound had healed a bit and there seemed to be no infection.
"I am surprised he let them touch you, let alone hurt you." Rýn spoke conversationally, but more to herself than to Aranel. When she was finished with the head wound, she spoke again. "If you ever need me, just ask someone to fetch me, dear. Good luck." And then she was gone.
Immediately after leaving the elleth in her chambers, Alasseo went to his own quarters to think. Fuming, he stalked back and forth around the sitting area. When a servant came to see if he needed anything, he had snarled at them and he hadn't heard so much as a sigh from another servant since.
Slowly, he calmed enough to think rationally. He forced himself to see this as an opportunity. I know she is of importance to the princes of Mirkwood. A sister of sorts, I believe. This gave him hope that they would send someone to rescue her; he did not think them foolish enough to leave Mirkwood when Raumo was already causing problems there. Besides, Raumo and any of his men would recognize them immediately. Perhaps this would be his opportunity to leave Raumo's shadow and leave this accursed castle forever. Sitting himself down in a chair in front of the fire, he let his thoughts stew. He knew this would take very careful planning, but his lips slowly curved up into a smile as an idea formed in his mind.
Finally finding a solution to the problem, he leaned back in the chair calling for one of his servants. When one finally scuttled over, he told them he wanted wine brought up to him; the best one in the wine closet. The terror on the small girls face faded when he asked politely and she walked quickly out of the room. Alasseo leaned back in the chair, huffed out a breath, and relaxed.
Aranel sat down on the bed again when the healer had gone. She wondered what would happen to the edhel she had shared a cell with. After a brief knock on the bedroom door, a servant entered and gave her a nightgown. As she was leaving, Aranel stopped her by asking about Erundil.
After a brief moment of silence, she answered curtly. "He is gone. You will not see him again." She then walked towards the door.
"What do you me-" She was cut off before she could finish, though, as the woman continued to the door and left without even looking back. Gone! What the hell did she mean gone!
Aranel changed into the nightgown and lay down to rest. Sleep gracefully eluded her, however. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was the Lord of the castle. He touched her in ways only one's beloved should and when she saw him she had to force herself awake. He terrified her even in her dreams when he could not harm her.
Finally, she slipped into a shallow, restless sleep.
Failon rode on late into the night and as he went on, the feeling of despair became almost overwhelming. Fear shivered through him, but he shrugged it off, knowing that others had it worse and he needed to stay on his guard.
A rustle of dry leaves jolted him out of his silent reflection and he gripped the hilt of his sword. Sliding down Lírë's side, he drew Naira and landed firmly on the ground, poised to attack. As he looked around in the dim light, he saw two rather large cloaked figures approaching slowly on both sides. Quickly, he threw off his cloak, while Lírë nervously pawed the ground and then moved a few feet away. Meldi stayed by his side, though, and watched as the attackers chose to come on full force together.
Failon had known they would do this, though, and kicked the first man to the ground, then fiercely attacked the other. The man he had kicked stood up and came around, his sword positioned to hack off the legs of anyone unlucky enough to get in the way. Failon punched the second man in the chest and swung Naira at the first. He then followed up by kicking the second man in the gut, grinning when he fell dramatically to the ground. The first man came swinging back and Failon had to jump out of the way because he wasn't able to get his sword up in enough time to block the attack to his head.
Meldi drew a chuckle from Failon when he trotted over to the second man and elegantly kicked him in the face with his back hoof. The wizard attempted to stab at the first attacker, but was blocked therefore stabbing the man in the arm. The foolish man dropped his sword and grabbed his bleeding arm, only to be kicked to the ground with Failon's left foot pressing down heavily on his chest.
When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "Who do you work for?"
The man stayed silent, however, trying to apply pressure to his bleeding arm and trying to squirm out from under Failon's heavy foot. Failon leaned forward, increasing the pressure on the poor man's chest. "Who?" He demanded and the man finally gave in.
At first, the man's mouth flapped open and closed for a moment bringing to mind a fish out of water. Then he spoke, "Lord Raumo." He was struggling to get breath and Failon decided to humor him and removed his foot. Turning to jump onto Lírë's back, he stopped and turned back around.
"Where is it?" As before, his voice was low and dangerous.
"Where is what?" The first man had an expression of confusion of his face.
"His castle, you moronic git."
"About one weeks ride in that direction." He pointed southeast.
Failon smiled slightly and re-sheathed Naira. "Good man. Now, your friend here seems to have taken a hard hit to the head and is knocked out. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds he has fewer teeth in his mouth and a broken nose. If you stay out of my way, I will not cause him or you anymore damage."
"My brother. He is my brother." Failon said nothing, only raised his eyebrows.
"Well then. Next time, chose someone other than a Dark Lord to work for. I would appreciate it if you left here and never returned." The man sat up on the ground and nodded, wrapping his arm in his tunic and crawling over next to his brother.
Failon hopped onto Lírë's back and left at a fast pace in the direction the man had pointed. He cooed praises to Meldi, but quickly turned silent.
After another hour of travel, Failon stopped Lírë and dismounted. Unsaddling her and removing the packs from Meldi's back, he set up camp. After eating a quick meal, he settled in for the night. He knew that if any trouble came along, his horses would alert him.
Rolling his cloak up and putting it under his head, he quickly drifted off into sleep. He slept restlessly, tossing and turning, dreaming terrible dreams. He dreamed of Raumo's army taking Mirkwood Palace and killing the royal family. He dreamed of Raumo raping and torturing Aranel over and over. He dreamed of having to return to Mirkwood with her body; having to tell Legolas that there was nothing he could do.
In the middle of the night, Lírë came and lay down on one side of him and Meldi lay down on the other side. Failon finally slept calmly between their comforting warmth.
When he woke at first light, he ate a quick breakfast of dried meat and cheese. Loading Meldi with the packs and then quickly tacking Lírë. Jumping on her back, they left at a fast trot.
Aranel was woken by the light of day after hours of almost non-existent sleep. When she wearily opened her eyes, though, she let out a shriek, for inches from her face was a male, Alasseo actually, looking at her with well-masked concern on his face.
Once she had gotten back her breath, she studied him. She wondered why he obeyed Raumo, but seemed to hate the man at the same time. No matter how she tried, she couldn't decide how she felt about him.
Turning from her, he indicated a small pile of clothing on the small table in the sitting area and said, "You are to put those on. Lord Raumo wishes to see you." And he was gone.
Throwing off the covers, Aranel climbed out of bed and walked over to the clothing on the chair. Her eyes went wide and she shook at what she found. All were indecent for a lady of her status, or any but a very rich whore. There were thin, translucent, lacy undergarments and a royal purple thin silk gown. Putting them on, the gown reached to the floor, but clung to every curve and dipped horribly low over her breasts, leaving little to the imagination.
When she heard the knock on the door, she jumped and frantically looked for something to wrap around herself, but found nothing. Lord Raumo entered the room, a predatorial look upon his face; a look that reminded her of a big cat stalking its prey. He walked directly over to her, grabbing her arms and kissing her hard. She tried to fight him off, but he held her tighter, forcing his tongue into her mouth. Then just as suddenly as it began, it ended and he squeezed her breast and pulled away.
"Let us take this to my rooms." She could see the lust in his eyes and hear the huskiness in his voice. Aranel wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball in the corner and die. They then left the room, despite her pulling against him, and he practically dragged her towards his quarters.
When they arrived, he proceeded to kiss and nip along her face and neck. All the while, his hands were roaming her body, taking it as his own. She tried to fight him, but he was bigger than her, stronger than her. He quickly overpowered her and pushed her onto the bed, his body pressing her into the soft mattress. He continued his unwanted ministrations, slowly making his way down, for a few more minutes.
When he pulled off her underwear, she cried out and again tried to fight him off. Again, he overpowered her. He smiled at her and told her not to worry.
"I will take care of you. Enjoy this." She squirmed beneath him, inevitably rubbing against him, and his eyes darkened more with lust. "I know I'm going to enjoy it."
After leaving Aranel's quarters, Alasseo left the castle and went on patrol. He rarely went out with his men and they were surprised to see him. He couldn't remain in the same building as Raumo when he knew what would be occurring, though. It made him sick that he would use the poor elleth in such a manner.
"Where are we patrolling today?"
"Southern border, sir." The commander was a middle-aged man, who was well-liked by his men. "Let's move out, men!" They began the thirty minute trudge towards the southern border, where they would be patrolling for five days.