Bolg was furious. One could see that in the way he walked through those narrow, dark corridors. Usually he would look like this when one of his plans failed... but right now... it probably was not even that. Everything had gone perfectly well: nothing bad had happened, after all. Those elven spies had been caught before they had told their king anything... the long-eared creatures would not know anything, it would be exactly like it had been until now. Moreover, he would be able to show some cruelty. Play with the toys his people had brought him. And the little she-elf would not know anything, he would not have to tell her, after all. And he would make sure none of the guards would betray anything...
Then what had made him this angry? Usually it would be a wonderful game for him. Not to mention, right now it should be even better as another plan of his had gone well. Besides, he had noticed that there were more and more orclings around him. Soon, his kin would grow strong once more, the children would be trained well and they would be able to take their revenge on the elven lot. His sons would be the officers, for sure, as he was certain they would grow the tallest and the strongest of them all.
A little smirk of pride played in the corners of his mouth as he thought of that. Yes, there would be lots of his children. His sons would be cruel and powerful, and everyone would be scared of them, so no-one would ever dare stand up to them. And then, his daughters would be strong and fertile. They would be wonderful as warriors and bring lots of honour to his family, giving offspring to their mates.
His bloodline would remain invincible.
Curling his hands into fists, he let out a small huff of happiness. Yes, that would all be true. And all that would be possible only because his little she-elf allowed that to happen. He could see her coming back to him after the first pup was born. He was sure she would beg for that again and again, until she was unable to carry anymore children.
All that should make him the happiest man of all... then why was he so full of fury inside? It was burning him like an acid. Ache kept pulsing inside his head, making it all so hard to stand. He just wanted to kill the spies along with his own people who had told him about them... Had the spies been killed quietly, without him even knowing about that... he would not have had to leave the room where the mother of his whelps dwelled. Right now, she seemed to be so much more important than any other elf.
And yet, instead of spending time with her, instead of making sure she was happy and well, he had to leave her all alone. What if she did something stupid again? Or if his people decided to act against his commands?
Yes, it had to be that. It was certainly the reason of his anger. Now, as the plan had gone so well, so smoothly, he was supposed to stay with his she-elf. Being a warrior, more than that, a commander, he knew he would not be able to stay with her for too long... but at least at the beginning... who knew, maybe he would need to leave her soon and they would not see each other again for a couple of months? Maybe until the pups were born?
And then they were. Those filthy little long-eared spies who had not only tried to find a way to destroy him, but who disturbed him while he was supposed to be somewhere else, doing something more important and more pleasant than dealing with them.
Beaten and tied up, so much unlike Tauriel when he had brought her there, they seemed to mean less than worms to him. Usually he would make his people torture them... maybe this way he could get to know more about the elven kingdom – but now, he had his little she-elf, whom he could ask about that, and who would tell him everything if he found a way to convince her. No, right now he was not in the mood for asking anyone about anything.
Right now, he wanted to kill.
And he would kill them.
They thought their curses would convince him not to do that, but he only smirked lopsidedly as his knuckles crackled. One of them seemed to act brave, yelling at him and threatening... but the other one was terrified, and Bolg knew that... especially as the elf began to beg him for mercy, seeing the bloodlust in his eyes.
No, there would be no mercy right now. He might have shown it to his little she-elf, but it was only because it was her. Because he wanted her his, and he had made her his. Those spies did not deserve any mercy from him.
His hands rested on the first one's head. Yes, he knew he could kill both of them at the same time, but he wanted at least one of them to see him killing the other one – and he would give him this pleasure. With a raspy laughter, the orc slowly tightened his grasp on the spy's head. Both of the little elves started yelling, the one in his hand tried to free himself... but it would not do. Tied up, weakened, he would not be able to stand against someone so much stronger than him.
Bolg could hear the cracking noise and some warm, sticky liquid covered his hand. Having tossed the unnecessary carcass aside, he licked his lipless mouth as he looked at the other elf. How should he let him die...?
The boy in front of him trembled from fright. He knew he would die, just like the one before him. Would his skull be crushed as well? Or the orc would find a way to torture him for some more time before releasing his spirit from this mortal body?
"So much less than the little she-elf," Bolg murmured to himself. Tauriel would not act like this... she would not yell, she would not cry. She would try to fight, and neither of those spies had done that. That was why they did not mean as much as the dirt on his feet. That was the reason why they had to die.
All of them.
The orc could see that wonderful fear in the elf's eyes, he could see the scent of terror in the air around him as he leant in to sink his teeth in the filth's throat.
A cry of pain mixed with dread echoed through the corridors but there was no-one to hear it.
Tauriel sighed. There were two elven spies down there... and they certainly were in danger. However, they were also her hope. If she could find them... maybe they would be able to escape together. That big orc would not dare hurt her, not now, as she probably carried his children, therefore they would be all safe. Maybe the orcs would not show them the way out, but they would be able to find it on their own, and then...
Freedom.
Tauriel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, imagining the touch of wind on her face, the scent of fresh air around her... warmth of the sun on her skin... A pleasurable shiver went down her spine. It had been so long since she had last felt anything like that. Truth be told, she had lost her track of time, and no longer was she able to say whether she had stayed there for weeks or for months. Nevertheless, it would always be like forever. Although she knew it was impossible, she would swear she had been there for years already.
Of course, she was scared; she could still remember how her last attempt to run away had ended. But if she stopped trying – would she still be herself? No, she was not ready to give up. If there was even the tinies sparkle of hope, she would use it.
Her hand was shaking as she reached for the door to push it open, but as she did that, she had to jump away not to be hit in the face as the door swang open.
Bolg was back... and she could feel the scent of blood around him. Her body was slowly turning weak, and she made a couple of steps back, glancing up at his ugly, flat face with terror in her eyes.
"You killed them," she spoke in a whisper.
Actually, she had no idea what else she could have been expecting. He was an orc. She and her kin were elves, for gods' sake. It was obvious they hated each other, that they would try to destroy each other. And even if for a little while she had thought she would be able to live a happy life right next to Bolg, it was nothing but a dream. It was not possible. Nature would not let her stay there and be happy.
At her words, the smile that lingered upon Bolg's mouth disappeared. For a moment, he did not seem to understand what she had said, but he had grasped it sooner than he would ever want to. Especially as he saw the look in her eyes.
Right before he had left, he had thought that she no longer looked at him with hatred, disgust and fear. She wanted to stay with him... despite all he had done to her. She had learnt to appreciate it all. Maybe even liked it.
And now...?
It was all back, and the blazing fury from before returned right into his heart, burning, making him want to kill her as well.
His hand went up, ready to strike, and he could see the elf backing off, until she hit the wall with her back. The muscles around his jaw twitched several times. She had to die, just like the other two. They were all the same, all of those filthy elves!
A dreadful roar escaped his throat as he punched the wall right next to Tauriel's head. What had made him this weak? Usually he would not think, just kill, if he wanted someone to perish. And yet, he could not kill her.
"Yes, I killed them. They were nothing but vermin to me. They deserved nothing but death. I could torture them first, but I didn't. And you know why, little she-elf?" he asked with ire in his voice and eyes. "Because I was angry. Angry that he wanted to kill my people. But not only that, she-elf."
He punched the wall behind her several more times and little parts of it began rolling down onto the floor. Tauriel's head stopped for a while and she closed her eyes, not sure whether he would kill her now or not.
"Answer me! Do you know why?" he roared and once more the elf could feel a slap on her face.
And yet again, it was not strong. He could crush her head with just one strike, but although it hurt when his hand met her cheek, although there was a dark red mark on her face, she understood it was not a punishment. Not yet.
Very slowly, she opened her eyes to meet his. He killed Kili... now he killed two peole who were probably like brothers to her. There was no possibility she could ever stay here – she would rather die than allow him to keep her there.
"I do not know," she replied in a shaky tone.
The orc snarled as he looked at her. It seemed he was chewing his words, not wanting to say them all out loud. On the other hand, though, it was like a poison. He would need to spit it out if he wanted to live.
"Because they took me away from you," he bellowed. "You make me weak. I should be able to kill them slowly, just the way I like it. But I couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking of returning here, to you. They made me angry because they disturbed me while I could just stay with my little she-elf."
Tauriel felt a wave of strange weakness rush right through her body, taking away all of her anger and fear. She was empty now... no, not empty. It was all replaced with shock, and it was so strong she could not breathe.
For a while longer, Bolg just stood there, staring at the woman, looking for anything to say, but at last he just huffed.
"Stupid elves," he muttered and left the room, slamming the door.