Tauriel woke up, a bit confused. She laid somewhere warm and pretty comfortable, what did not feel anything like what she had been used to for the last several weeks. Truth be told, it had become to seem normal to live in a cold, dark place the orc had locked her in, even though her kin was supposed to live in a forest – free, surrounded by light and nature. But since she had been abducted, she had changed pretty much. As if she was no longer an average elf, but something quite different. And yet, she was not an orc; never would she become one, even though she had a strange feeling Bolg somewhat wanted her to become like him...
Or maybe not. Had he wanted her to change, he would have already made sure she would. And yet, he had done nothing like that; he appreciated her the way she was, although sometimes he had to break some part of her. To tame her...
There were no shackles around her wrists or ankles. No collar around her neck. Actually, she had a feeling that at last she could call herself free. Maybe if she stood up, she would be able to leave. And yet, something stopped her from doing that; as if all of her being, despite everything, did not want to escape. Even though that was exactly what she had been wishing to do since that night she had been taken from the cave in the mountains...
Very slowly, Tauriel opened her eyes to realise she was still in the very same room she had been living for the past few weeks. Nothing had changed about it... well, maybe besides the fact that there was someone lying right next to her, making her feel so wonderfully warm. The one by her side was apparently sleeping, holding her close and breathing calmly in his sleep. Not believing it could be true, the elf looked to her side to make sure it was the very same orc that had taken her from her home. That had killed the one whom she had loved.
And the very same orc that had made her his.
The events from the previous day and night, which seemed to be extremely long, and yet so short at the same time, began to return to her mind. She could now remember his touches, their breaths melting into one, his grunts and her moaning...
No. He had not hurt her. All that time he had been making sure she would feel magnificent, even though she had been protesting at the beginning. He had been making sure she would never regret what would come then.
Oh, yes. His plans. At first, Tauriel had forgotten about them, astounded by the fact that despite pain she now felt pleasure. Sweet bliss was spread all over her body just like the warmth Bolg's embrace gave her. And yet, it did not change the fact that he had planned to act against nature and make her the mother of his offspring. Something told her that it would soon come true, though. There was no way she was not expecting now, after all that had happened between them... what had been happening for so many hours.
This blissful serenity now started turning into dread. What if her body was not able to stand that? Well, yes, it had been able to stand Bolg's rather cruel ways of mating, but that was not enough to ensure her she would stand so many days of pregnancy. She did not know how big orclings were when it came to delivery... There was a possibility she would not make it through it – not to mention those months of carrying the child under her heart.
Bolg moved by her side, and that brought her back to reality, but did not change the fact she was now really frightened. Just like back then, when she had first woken up in this dark cell. Once again she was afraid she would not be able to survive, although for the past several weeks she had carried a tiny spark of hope in her heart.
Now, though, was there any hope for her...?
And yet – even if there was not... what would she do? Would she kill the little thing that had emerged from nothingness because of what had happened between her and that orc? It was her fault – hers and that orc's, not the little one's. Why would it pay for its parent's mistakes and sins? And would she even be able to kill it?
Biting her bottom lip, she covered her face with hands. Yes, that was her reality now. She was to become a little orcling's mother, whether she was ready for that or not. The nature would not be asking about that; it was all done now. And if she was not able to survive it – she would pay the highest price for her child's life.
A deep sigh left her lips, and that was when she realized the orc by her side was no longer asleep; he laid there, looking at her with some strange expression in his bicoloured eyes. Never before had she seen anything like that.
Without a word, he nuzzled her cheek, then began his peculiar ritual of cleaning her body; his raspy tongue touched every inch of her skin, and she did not protest, but this time it was not pleasant nor exciting to her. As if she could not feel it. Or maybe as if she could feel it, but nothing of that actually reached her mind.
Murmuring some words in his own tongue, the orc then moved from the floor and knelt at her legs, touching her stomach with his broad, ugly face. Yes, she understood that gesture... he was proud. Or maybe he was thanking her for obeying him, for making his plan come true. Because now there was no doubt there was his whelp growing under her heart.
Almost in complete silence, the orc stood up and began putting the parts of her armour back onto his body, along with the loincloth. Once it was all where it was supposed to be, he paid his little she-elf one more look, that could even be called tender, then left her in the room. He had enough faith in her not to put the chains back onto her body. There was no need to. With her experience, she would not leave the room without him as he was the only one that could help and protect her. With whom she could feel completely safe. And both of them were aware of the fact she did not want to be hurt.
The others of his kin could feel now she had his offspring inside of her body, but that was not enough to stop them from wanting to satisfy their needs with her. That was why he did not allow her to leave the room on her own, not right now. They needed time. They needed to understand she was his and no-one else's.
Tauriel stood up. Her legs were trembling lightly, and she could feel the sticky, thick fluid slowly rolling down her thigh, as if reminding her ruthlessly that what she remembered from the previous day and night was all true.
Her hand rested on her stomach, and for the first time in a very long time she did not even pay much attention to the fact she was once more completely exposed. There was her dress tossed to the ground, crumpled in the corner. Actually nothing stopped her from putting it on, she was sure Bolg would not be furious if he found out she had done that. But right now, she did not feel the need of covering herself. She was now completely defiled. Nothing worse could meet her now – well, maybe death, but at this point death seemed to be nothing but a blessing to her. Maybe it would be better if she did not survive...
And at that darkest of all moments, a little sparkle appeared in the depths of her heart. At first, she was not quite sure what it might be. But soon, she was to understand.
Hope. Happiness. Excitement.
Her old life as a former captain Tauriel of Mirkwood had finally ended, and she could bury her old self in the darkness of the orcs' fortress. It was a completely new episode she was starting right now. Maybe she would not get through it untouched, but it did not mean there was no hope for her. There was a possibility she could live a happy life, even though nature did not mean to put her in this place at first.
Yes, as an elf she was not supposed to live in such a place, with such a partner by her side. She was not supposed to have a child against her own nature. But was she even an elf now...?
"Eat, little she-elf," she heard all of sudden, and with a gasp she raised her sight to see no-one else but Bolg standing there, in the doorway, reaching his hands to her. She could see a bowl in one of them, while the other one held a rather big cup of some dark liquid.
"Thank you," she heard her own voice, even though she did not remember planning to say anything like that. Having taken a deep breath, she smiled softly and took both the bowl and the cup from the orc's hands, then sat down against the wall to begin her meal.
What she did not notice was the way he was looking at her at that moment. That smile on his lipless mouth might seem to be nasty to others, but she now knew him well enough to realise it was not. It was full of pride. His belonging had at last learnt her last lesson: that she belonged to him, and nothing, not even her hardest protests, would ever change that. And it seemed that she no longer wanted to protest.
If only there was a way to bring her hair back to its previous state... if he could make it shine again, like back then, when he had first seen her in fight...
Sitting down, he ran his fingers through her red strands, what surprised her so much that she stopped eating. Slowly, she looked up at him.
"So red... so fiery... just like my little she-elf," he spoke quietly, more as if to himself than to her, what did not change the fact she could hear every word perfectly. Well, he did not say that in Black Speech, but rather in the language she could understand as well, even though it still seemed to be quite difficult for him to use it.
It would be much easier to teach her his language. To make her speak the same language he did, instead of forcing himself to use Common Speech. Instead, though, he did not do anything to make her change into an orc. Because she had to be an elf... no. She had to be herself, Tauriel. His little she-elf.
"I have never got to know your name," said Tauriel, not commenting on his words, even though his thumb was still caressing her hair. For so long they had lived together, they had mated, they had created a new life, and yet, they did not know something so simple as their own names. After all, he had never asked about her own, either – otherwise, would he still call her "his little she-elf"?
Bolg seemed to be surprised at her question. When he took his hand away, he accidentally pulled on her hair, what made her grimace a little, but after a while, he responded.
"My kin calls me Bolg," he spoke, accenting the name in the right way, making his words sound even more like Black Speech, even though he did not use it. "Does your kin use names for each of you?"
Tauriel nodded, "It's Tauriel," she answered. "Tauriel of Mirkwood."
The muscle in the orc's face twitched slightly, as if this name caused him pain, but he soundlessly repeated it.
"Tau... ri... el, you are the mother of my offspring and you'll have to listen to all of my commands from now on," he ordered but in a rather soft way. He could not allow her to get hurt. It would hurt his pup as well, and it was his greatest treasure. His bloodline would survive, just like his father wanted.
The elf opened her mouth to say something, but at that very moment the door swang open and another orc stood in the doorway.
"Commander," he spat out in the foul language. "We need you in the headquarters. We've captured some elven spies."
Not aware of the fact Tauriel had got to know the language well enough to understand those words and to feel frightened by them, Bolg got up and without a sound exited the room once more, leaving the elf terrified and on her own.