I do not own Lord of the Rings, or any of Tolkien's characters. Any characters and plot lines I create are mine.

A/N: Just a short Author's Note today. I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving because of how much I love pumpkin pie! It is absolutely the best thing about fall ever. Oh yeah, and the turkey is good, too. And the stuffing. And cranberry sauce, I love cranberries! So to sum up this note, I am going to eat tons of food, gain a few pounds, and hopefully use that extra weight to gain the motivation I have been lacking in order to begin exercising. Yay!

As for a note that is actually related to the story, over 1000 views. WOW!

Chapter 7: Confrontation

Khamûl had not seen much of Azruphel in the past two weeks, and he was beginning to grow concerned. It seemed as though she was deliberately avoiding him. It also concerned Khamûl that Azruphel was spending a considerable amount of time with the prisoner or in her room. She was hiding something. That much, at least, was certain. He now had to figure out what.

Khamûl started searching at Azruphel's room. Then the dungeons. Then the stables. She was not in any of those places. Frustrated, Khamûl stormed into one of the meeting rooms, looking for Er-Murazor. Instead, he walked in on the last person he expected to find. Azruphel was sitting at her usual spot, staring intently at an unlit candle.

"You know, it is funny," she began as soon as Khamûl entered the room. "No matter how long or how hard I concentrate, doing what he has told me, I only got one candle to light. Even then, I wonder if I did it, or him."

Khamûl was not in the mood for games. "What is this about, Azruphel?"

"This," she said, throwing a book on the table between them. The Nazgûl hissed when he saw the book was written in Elvish.

Six Hours Earlier

"Don't get mad," Azruphel said to Strider as she pulled a book from her bag. Strider's eyes grew wide at the title.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"I had it all along. I wanted to make sure you were being truthful when you taught me Elvish."

Strider picked up the book and began paging though it. "This is incredible! It details much of the history of rings and ring lore."

"Does it have information on the Nine?"

"It should. If this doesn't, nothing does."

Strider and Azruphel spent two hour pouring over the book and its information. Azruphel could only understand a few words in each sentence, so Strider often had to translate for her. Azruphel, however, did not worry about Strider being truthful. She was going to trust him after everything he had done for her.

"I found something," he said to her finally. Azruphel looked at the writing, but could only decipher a few words.

"What does it say?" she asked.

Strider looked at the page, hesitating. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"What does it say?" Azruphel repeated firmly.

Strider took a deep breath, and then began to read. "'Sauron the deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One.'" Strider stopped when he saw Azruphel sink to the floor in shock.

"Are you alright?" he asked after a few minutes had passed.

Azruphel did not respond right away. Instead, she began to shake, and the next minute passed in silence. When she finally did speak, her voice had lost the confidence that Strider had grown accustomed to over the last few weeks.

"I spent the last two weeks hoping for something I knew in my heart was wrong," she said slowly, clearly hurt. "I wanted it to be a trick, and I could prove it wrong. But I was wrong." Azruphel was somewhere between anger and tears.

"What did they tell you," he prompted, knowing it would awake rage within her, but also recognizing that she needed to get it out.

"They told me it was a choice, that they knew the whole time what they were doing. He said it was a choice, that the ring was a sign of loyalty. Not a sign of a slave!"

"Shaataz, it was not their fault! The Nazgûl were deceived," Strider started to say, but Azruphel cut him off.

"They deceived me! They lied to me! He said I would always have a choice, but I know what he wanted me to chose. And it was already decided for me!"

"They are the slaves, Shaataz. The Nazgûl had to follow orders from Sauron."

"Sauron may be in control, but they are my family. I thought I would at least get some honesty from that!"

"Shaataz, calm down!"

"It is not Shaataz! My name is Azruphel."

"Azruphel," Strider said. It was only then that Azruphel realized she had revealed her name. For a moment Strider looked thoughtful, as though he would share his name in return, but then he simply continued, "You have a Númenórean name."

"Adûnaphel gave me that name," Azruphel said, her anger and frustration beginning to give way to tears. "All this time, I have been no more than a slave. I knew to follow orders. I don't know what is on the other side of this. I was taught to hate everything and everyone, even my own race, all because they were evil. Well, let them have their opinions. I have formed my own." Azruphel got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Strider asked.

Azruphel paused near the door. "I need to speak with someone."

Present

Khamûl was angry, furious even, but more importantly he was hurt. Azruphel no longer trusted him, instead placing all her trust in a prisoner who claimed the Nazgûl were deceived. Unfortunately, it was the truth.

"You went behind our backs because of the words of a prisoner? How could you?"

"Excuse me?" Azruphel asked. "How could I? How could you? I put my faith in my family and all of you lied to me!"

"Where did you find this book?"

"Really, Father? I know every inch of this place. There is a hidden library in Minas Morgul."

"So, did you just happen upon that book or did you go specifically for it after speaking with that man?"

"He seemed truthful, and I wanted to know. He does not know what I found." Azruphel easily told that lie. If she told the truth, she would not be able to protect Strider.

"How did you learn Elvish?" Khamûl asked.

"I figured it out with the books in the library. I am going to ask you again. How could you?"

Khamûl sighed. The game was up, and it had taken a filthy prisoner to break Azruphel's resolve. After all the years of loyalty, Khamûl believed Azruphel had become a Nazgûl.

"I am sorry," he finally said. "We believed that of we told you the truth, you would leave us. Adûnaphel and I did not want that."

"Well, that plan worked out well for you," Azruphel said, turning to leave.

"Azruphel! Don't go!"

"Why shouldn't I go? YOU LIED TO ME!" Azruphel yelled just as Adûnaphel and Uvatha opened the door. There was an awkward pause as the four looked at each other. Then, Azruphel stormed out of the room, slamming the door as she went.

"Khamûl, what is going on?" Adûnaphel asked. Uvatha, on the other hand, turned to follow Azruphel.

"I am going to talk to her," he said.

"Uvatha, wait! I should warn you first -"

"You don't need to warn me," Uvatha said, cutting Khamûl off. "She is hurt by something you said, and clearly does not want to talk about it in front of you!" Without another word, he followed the path he knew Azruphel would take. Sure enough, as he approached the stables, he could hear sobbing coming from Bûrzum's stall.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said. Clearly, she had felt him coming.

"What did Khamûl say?" he asked, not listening to her words at all.

"It is not just Khamûl," she sobbed. "It is all of you. You lied about the rings, about Sauron, about everything!"

"What are you talking about?"

"None of you left willingly. You were deceived into taking the rings, but of course you could not tell me that. I always counted you as a friend, Uvatha. Tell me the truth now. Did you leave home because you were unhappy, or because Sauron was forcing you to."

Uvatha thought, trying to figure out how to answer. "I was unhappy, because something was drawing me here. I know now that it was this ring, but by the time I figured it out, it was too late. Sauron had taken control. We learned later that he was the one who gave us the rings. We were told to tell you lies, Azruphel. Believe me when I say this; I never wanted to, but the others felt it was necessary."

"We don't have a choice, do we?"

"It is too late for me, Azruphel. But I hold by what I told you. You, right now, still have a choice. I suggest you make one." Uvatha began to walk away.

"Uvatha, wait!" He turned around. Azruphel got up off the floor and hugged him.

"Thank you."

A/N: So, I stole a quote from the movie. Just in case you didn't notice...

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