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

Chapter 11: Journey to Rohan

"Where are we going now?" Azruphel asked when they were about an hour from Minas Tirith.

"Edoras. We should be there in a five or six days. Maybe less if we move quickly."

Azruphel nodded absentmindedly. Her mind was on another matter. Had the other Nazgûl noticed her extended absence? Where would they look? How long before they realized she was no where near Mordor?

While questions ran through Azruphel's head, she and Strider lapsed into a comfortable silence. In certain situations they had a conversation topic, like when they were laughing about troll stories or discussing Gondor. Now, with nothing but an expanse of grass-covered plains and a line of snow-capped mountains, they had nothing to discuss. Azruphel liked this area. It was quiet and simple. Riding across the plains was relaxing, not like side-stepping orc camps in Mordor or avoiding rangers in Ithilien. This was something she would do for fun. Even the occasional stream did not cause her to panic like she normally would. She did tense up, but Nightfall was more than happy to follow Brehan. It seemed, despite previous distaste, Nightfall and Brehan had become fast friends. Not unlike herself and Strider, Azruphel thought.

The wind whipped across the grass, and Azruphel shook her head to catch the wind in her hair. She was smiling and enjoying herself, completely unaware that next to her, a comment that she had made a few days before was eating away at Strider.

It wasn't until that evening that he got a chance to ask her. They had just started a fire when Strider brought up the awkward topic.

"What did you mean by not thinking when you left with me?"

At first, Azruphel did not know what Strider was talking about. Then she remembered making that comment.

"Uh, well, I... I don't know. Honestly, that is something my parents would say. Guess I picked up that little habit."

Trying to avoid the topic was not working on Strider. "What did you mean?"

"Alright, I kind of have a habit of running off when I get angry or annoyed over something, usually relating to one of the Nazgûl."

"How often have you run off?"

"Well, normally I am not gone for days. A few hours just to cool off is considered usual. Sometimes a day if I am really angry."

"Where do you go?"

"That depends on the situation. If I am looking for a break I will go find a few friends to duel or complain to."

"Friends?"

"More like friend," Azruphel said. "He is the orc that is in charge of one of the towers. We have a 'history,' you could say."

The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Azruphel rarely talked about her childhood, mostly because she really didn't have anyone to talk to that didn't already know her.

It was Strider who broke the silence. "How did you two meet?"

"Well, I was really mad at my parents for a stupid reason. I wanted to be able to wander around on my own instead of always having someone following me-"

"Your parents were being restrictive?" Strider interrupted.

"I think they were afraid of what would happen if I came across an orc alone. Let's just say, being the only child in all of Mordor, I hated being treated differently. So one day I ran off and encountered Shagrat, who wasn't exactly pleased to see me."

"I can understand that."

"Well, there was an orc fight going on that I inadvertently got involved in, but I think I shocked Shagrat when, instead of running and hiding like I should have, I actually blocked a sword that headed in my direction."

"How old were you?"

"I don't remember. It happened a while ago. It wasn't a very good block, and the force of it may have caused me to fall down," Azruphel admitted. "I started combat training almost as soon as I could hold a small sword. Shagrat took pity on me and chopped the orc's head off before he could try again. After that we became friends. He even gave me fighting lessons until I got better than him. That's also where I got the name Shaataz. I was an honorary orc."

Strider raised his eyebrows in a look of shocked disbelief. "All of this happened because you were angry at your parents?"

"Yes."

"You must have been an interesting teenager."

Azruphel chuckled. "I suppose. I don't know any other teenagers to compare myself to, though."

With that, the conversation ended.

***Azruphel***

A pattern began that would repeat itself over the next few days to Edoras. Azruphel and Strider would ride in silence, but at night they would talk. Strider was mostly interested in Azruphel's childhood. At first, Azruphel felt weird sharing the experiences, especially if the topics moved towards information about Mordor itself. She knew Strider would be curious about the fortresses and orc numbers in Mordor, so she steered the conversations away from such inquiries. Honestly, she did not know why. Perhaps it was lingering loyalty or habit from all of her training, but she made sure to keep the conversations about innocent experiences.

The one night, Strider asked her who her favorite Nazgûl was. Azruphel told him about Uvatha. She explained how Uvatha trained the ten horses in Minas Morgul and how she immediately connected with him.

"He was the nicest, and pretty much let me get away with anything," Azruphel said as a conclusion to her explanation of him. Strider was smiling.

"He sounds as though he would have been a good parent," Strider said.

"I considered all of them to be my parents. Father and Mother were not thrilled with that."

"Speaking of Father and Mother," Strider started, but then he paused.

"What?"

"I was just wondering," he said, "are they your parents? I mean your real parents."

Azruphel sighed. "You asked me this before. My answer remains the same."

"It still seems strange to me. I did not think wraiths would be able to have children."

Unlike the first time they had this conversation, Azruphel was much calmer about it. "I guess it seems a little strange. I was the only child, but..."

Strider waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "But what?"

"If they took me from somewhere else, I can understand why they would lie. No child would want to hear that they came from an enemy."

"You do appear to be Rohirrim."

"Is that why we are stopping at Edoras?"

"No, but if you want to search-"

"There is no point. I mean, where would we even start?" Azruphel said. "Besides, even if I tracked my parents down, what would I say?"

Strider did not have an answer. Azruphel unrolled a blanket, getting ready to sleep. Just when Strider thought she wasn't going to talk anymore, she continued.

"How do you tell two people that for all these years their child was raised by someone else, their enemy no less! I may not like it, but Khamûl and Adûnaphel made me who I am today, all of them did, and for that they are my parents. Nothing is going to change that."

Miles away, those parents were meeting again about the extended absence their daughter. The nine Nazgûl were waiting for an orc to bring the prisoner up from the dungeons to interrogate on what had happened. Specifically, they wanted to know what had caused Azruphel to snap.

The orc returned, alone. "I told you to bring the prisoner," Er-Murazor said. The orc cowered before the furious Nazgûl.

"I could not bring the prisoner. He is not there."

"What do you mean?" Khamûl asked.

"The prisoner and the prisoner's things are gone. The door was unlocked."

Er-Murazor was angry. "Get out." The orc did not need to be told twice. "Alright," Er-Murazor began, "the prisoner is nowhere to be found, and neither is Azruphel."

"She hasn't gone to any of the usual places, and none of us can sense her with the ring. She isn't wearing it," Khamûl said. "Wherever she is, she does not wish to be found."

"When I saw her, she looked like she was packed for several days. I did not see any sign of the prisoner," Adûnaphel added.

"She may have released him before leaving herself," Ren said.

"I don't understand. This does not sound like Azruphel," Akhorahil said. "I don't know her as well the rest of you, but she always seemed calm and dedicated."

"But when she was angry, she could be scary. I never saw her as angry as she was that day. I think she is capable of running away," Khamûl explained.

"Does Sauron know?" Akhorahil asked Er-Murazor.

"Yes. We need to find her and bring her back," Er-Murazor said. "All of us know her very well, but clearly she can still surprise us. Split into groups and scout around. We will meet a mile east of the crossroads in two days with any information we have."

A/N: Please review!