You deserve nothing at all...
You knew that life was a game...
You deserve nothing at all...
You must endure your own PAIN!
Life in the dark without a light
Hollow empty
Let's get it right
You deserve nothing at all...
You knew that life was a game...
You deserve nothing at all...
YOU MUST ENDURE YOUR OWN PAIN!
--Kittie
Aragorn and Legolas crept out of the shadows and headed straight for the figure suspended by heavy iron chains. Arwen had a prominent gash on her cheek and numerous welts across her back, not to mention bruising on nearly every visible patch of skin. To top it all, both her right arm and leg seemed broken. And someone had cut her hair. Badly. As for Arwen herself, she was still unconscious.
Aragorn stealthily, or as stealthily as he could, followed Legolas, who was carefully picking his way towards Arwen, making sure not to disturb a single orc. Aragorn resisted the urge to rush headlong towards Arwen, and slay every last one of the cruel beasts.
They were about halfway across the cavern when Legolas tapped his shoulder, and motioned for him to draw his sword, silently, of course. Aragorn threw him a quizzical look. "Just do it," he mouthed.
The pair reached the captive elf maiden without any trouble, and resheathed their weapons. Legolas looked at Aragorn and shrugged. Aragorn, pressed his blade into the keyhole of the lock, when suddenly, an orc leapt out from behind a large rock in the center of the cavern and gave a loud cry, waking all the other orcs. Aragorn instantly switched into combat mode, redrawing his sword. He cursed, realizing that he had walked right into the trap. And he had dragged Legolas in, too.
"Do not kill them!" Grishnak shouted through the din. "I want them alive!" His orcs were not effectively fighting the elf and human, and were getting themselves skewered. Grishnak sighed. Orcs could be so stupid sometimes. He noticed that the human was the same human, still in Ranger attire, that had attacked their camp a few days back. Grishnak remembered being able to deliver a deep cut in his thigh. Chances were that the wound was not fully healed yet. That could be used to his advantage.
Grishnak picked up a blunt club lying in the cavern and swung in low, aiming for the old wound. The human was not able to block his swing, as he was too busy parrying the various blades aiming at his head and upper torso. The wood impacted against flesh with a dull thud, and the man's trouser leg became wet with blood as the sutures keeping his old wound closed were broken by the impact of the club. He gave a small cry of pain, and winced, trying to ignore his injury, but the temporary pause was enough for the clever orc captain.
Grishnak swiftly drew a dagger and held it against the man's throat. "Drop your weapon," he hissed in his captive's ear. The man reluctantly let his grip loosen, and his sword fell to the ground with clatter.
"Stop!" Grishnak bellowed. All motion if the cavern froze. Even the elf was so surprised that even he paused. "Elf, drop your weapon, now," he ordered.
"What would ever compel me to do that?" the elf inquired icily, eyeing the orcs around him warily.
"Maybe, your friend here. If you do not surrender, I will slit his pretty little throat."
The elf risked a glance at Grishnak. Grishnak pressed his blade harder against the human's throat, drawing a thin line of blood and causing him to wince. "No! Do not do it!" Aragorn shouted, struggling against the orc. Grishnak looked at his struggling hostage and whispered in his ear, his voice coldly venomous, "If you do not behave, when I catch the elf, I will kill him. And that pretty she-elf as well." The human instantly stopped moving. Humans were so easy to manipulate.
Grishnak looked back at the elf. The elf gave him a hard stare but finally conceded, dropping his twin knives. Two large brawny orcs seized the elf's arms and a third relieved him of his bow and quiver.
Grishnak smiled. They had finally caught their quarry.
Legolas gave the orc captain a look of sheer hatred and loathing. The orc simply smiled back. Inwardly, Legolas shuddered; there was a cruel intelligence lurking behind the creature's eyes. Outwardly, he continued his icy glare.
"So, Elf, what is your name?" the orc purred.
Legolas did not answer.
"You do not want to tell me, do you?" he inquired softly.
Legolas despised the orc's tone, and proceeded to spit in the dark creature's face. "Dôl lost lîn!"
He slowly wiped away the saliva. "So spirited." The orc's expression changed ever so slightly, becoming all the more evil in the prince's eyes, if that was possible. "We'll see what we can do."
Legolas pretended that he had not heard the orc.
"So strong and silent, Elf. I wonder how you will sound once you start screaming…" The orc trailed off.
"Lasto lalaith-nîn." Legolas sneered, giving a snicker despite his fear.
The orc snorted softly and turned and strode toward the captive ranger. Legolas's keen Elven hearing could pick up the orc's words.
"So, human, why did you kill a perfectly innocent orc?" he asked. Legolas snorted quietly, earning him a backhanded cuff from one of the orcs holding him. As if there was such thing as an innocent orc.
"How many innocent lives have you taken?" the angry ranger shot back. He looked away for a second, distracted by the two orcs binding his wrists too tightly behind him.
"That is a very good point you have made," he agreed. He paused thoughtfully, and then added, mockingly, "How am I to keep such a clever elf and ranger in line? Any suggestions?"
Aragorn remained silent, not meeting the orc's eyes.
"No? Hmmm…" the orc pretended to mull over the question. Then he answered it. "What if I punish your friend for your misdeeds, will that teach you to be kinder? Think about what I have said. All you will ever do is hurt the ones you care about. You would not be so cruel as to hurt those who care for you, would you?"
"No," Aragorn whispered, but Legolas could hear the doubt in the Man's voice. Legolas knew that without reassurances, the young human would crumble; he was very emotionally fragile right now. Legolas also knew that the human's true name could never be told, so he would have to come up with a nickname. Legolas shouted the first thing that came to mind. "Strider! Pith dîn saew. Ú-lasto hon." The orcs shrieked at the sound of the beautiful Elven tongue, and Legolas earned himself a punch in the stomach, which caused the air to be forcefully knocked out of his lungs. He doubled over, trying to regain his breath.
"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted. Legolas heard the sounds of a scuffle, and then a body hitting the ground and the ranger's cry of pain.
The two orcs holding him shoved him against the cavern wall and chained his hands over his head with rusty steel manacles that were purposely fastened too tightly. Legolas could feel rough stone against his cheek and tried to fight down rising panic. "You will pay for this, Elf," one of them hissed. This was not going to be good.
Aragorn began struggling wildly when he saw the orc strike friend and managed to escape from the grips of the orcs holding him. He spun, trying not to allow the orcs to grasp his arms again. He felt more than saw an orc backhand him hard across the face, and tasted the coppery tang of blood. Yellow spots danced across his vision, and another blow to his temple did not help. The first thing he saw when his vision cleared again was the ground rushing up of meet him. He cried out as his an orc boot connected with the freshly opened wound in his thigh. Other boots followed the first, and he curled up as best as he could with his hands bound behind him. He began to panic as the repeated blows to his abdomen and chest were preventing him from drawing in enough air. A sharp pain flared from one of his ribs, not fading, assuring him that the bone was at least cracked, if not broken.
"Stop!" the orc captain shouted, his voice cutting through the air. Abruptly, the blows stopped. "Release his hands," the orc ordered. The bonds fall away from his wrists. Aragorn lay there gasping and coughing, trying to regain his breath and his composure.
Grasping a handful of the human's hair, Grishnak dragged him to his feet. "That was very bad of you, was it not?" Grishnak asked, pulling his captive's face closer to his own.
Aragorn refused to respond to the orcs taunts, but he was getting a very bad feeling.
"Now your little blonde friend here will have to be punished."
"No," Aragorn whispered. Nothing that happened was Legolas's fault; had all been his own fault. They could not punish the Elven prince.
"But that was our agreement, was it not?" Grishnak inquired. Without waiting for the human's answer, Grishnak turned toward a large muscular orc. "Give him fifty lashes."
"Yes, sir."
"No! You cannot!" Aragorn protested.
"Oh, but I can. But I can also be reasonable. You deliver the lashes and he only gets twenty-five."
Aragorn knew that Legolas could easily hear their conversation. Aragorn could not hurt his friend, but what else could he do? "Fine," he whispered brokenly.
"What?"
"I will do it," Aragorn repeated, hating himself.
"Very good. You will save your friend considerable pain this way," Grishnak said, emphasizing friend mockingly. He took the whip from the orc and pressed it into the palm of Aragorn's hand. It was a long heavy whip, stained with the blood of many who had been previous victims to its cruel lash. "Remember, for each lash that you do not deliver forcefully enough, your friend with be subjected to five more in its place."
"Ú-belin cared hen," Aragorn whispered softly. But not softly enough. Legolas heard him and murmured back, "Mellon-nîn, caro i le boe."
Another orc came and ripped the prince's tunic open down the back, revealing the flawless skin beneath. Aragorn took a breath and raised his arm back, and brought the lash down on his friend's back. He saw red blood appear on the elf's back, and his muscles clench in pain. Aragorn raised his arm again, and then dropped it, allowing the whip to fall through his limp fingers. He could not do this. He simply could not.
Grishnak strode over. "You disappoint me, Human. You cannot even spare your friend a little pain. Chain him where he can see." Two orcs dragged Aragorn over to a spot near Legolas, and restrained him in the same fashion as they had the elf.
Aragorn closed his eyes, and thought about how he had been unable to help and thus lost his birth parents.
//"Honey, we must leave now!" Gilraen shouted above the thunder.
"But Nana, we cannot just leave Ada!" a young sobbing Aragorn cried.
"Dear, Ada is…" Her voice cracked and she was unable to continue. "El and Ro will find him. We must go, it is not safe here!"
A small tear stricken boy turned to look at his father a final time. Unseeing eyes turned toward the sky, out of one was protruding an arrow. Lightning flashed across the night, giving all a clear view of the carnage. Arathorn's blood mingled with the rain, forming a slowly spreading red puddle.
Gilraen helped her young son onto a horse and rode off into the night, towards Rivendell and safety.//
Aragorn remembered that night vividly, though he been but a small child. That night, he had lost not only his father, but his mother as well, for Gilraen had been wounded with a poisoned blade, and being so worried about her child, had not gotten treatment soon enough for her own wounds. Aragorn remembered her on her deathbed, so young, and yet so sad.
//"Nana!" Aragorn sobbed. "Nana, you cannot leave me, too!"
"Iôn-nin, I love you very much, but it is my time," she patiently explained. She then added a short linnod in Sindarin "Onen I-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim.". She smiled sadly at her son. "I just wish I could have seen you grow up…" Then, her eyes closed for the final time, and she was gone."//
His mother had never called him by his true name, and after hearing his mother's linnod, everyone had simply called him Estel, Hope. He had not before understood the meaning of his mother's words until Elrond had revealed to him his true lineage. Now he truly understood the burden of being Isildur's heir. When it was needed, his strength failed him, and he always hurt the ones he loved most. If his father hadnot been so concentrated on his son, he never would have been caught off guard. And if his mother hadnot ridden so hard to protect him, she might still have had the strength to fight the poison. He had torn apart his foster family by falling in love with his own sister. And now Legolas was suffering because of him.
He could not bear to watch as his friend was whipped. He closed his eyes and willed the tears not to come. Aragorn could hear each time the lash descended to land with a crack across the prince's back. After about a score of lashes, the elf gasped sharply each time the lash kissed his back; a score more, and he was screaming his throat raw. By the time the orc was finished, the only thing keeping the elf upright were the chains around his wrists.
Grishnak walked over to Aragorn and said, "That should teach you a lesson. Did it?"
"Yes," Aragorn whispered. He could still hear the elf's labored breathing reverberate harshly around the cavern.
"I cannot hear you. I think we are going to have to have another lesson," he threatened.
Suddenly, a pained cry pierced the air. Arwen was awake!
Grishnak smiled coldly. "Maybe with the she-elf this time."
"No!" Aragorn cried, desperate. "I have learned. Please do not hurt them. I beg you!"
"Repeat that my dear human. Louder this time, so that all can hear."
"I have learned. Please do not hurt them."
"No, no, no. That will not do. You are to repeat the whole thing, especially that last part."
Aragorn could see no other way around it, so, feeling wretched, he complied. "I have learned. Please do not hurt them," a pause, then, "I beg you." Aragorn hung his head in shame. He could just imagine Legolas's anger at him for begging an orc. And Arwen; she would never even consider loving him after that. Aragorn could feel hot tears prickle behind his eyes and leak down his cheeks. With his hands bound, he could not wipe then away, and the orcs laughed at his weakness and anguish.
Arwen slowly began to come to. The first thing that registered in her mind was the pained cries that echoed around the halls. The second was her overwhelming agony. Tears of pain began to leak from her eyes. She shifted a little, causing her broken bones to grate against each other and her manacles to cut deeper into her wrists. She heard herself scream and blackness began to eat away the edges of her vision.
When the pain had receded enough for her to perceive anything besides her raw nerves, she heard a familiar voice begging for someone else not to be hurt. So now the orcs had more prisoners. At least two more, for the voice speaking was not the same as the one that she had heard earlier.
Suddenly, she recognized the pleading voice. It was Aragorn! The last time she had seen him had not been under the best of circumstances.
//Arwen woke up disoriented and in pain. She saw many booted feet and raised her head slightly and looked out. Beyond the clearing, hidden in the trees, she thought she recognized Aragorn's face. But he was in Rivendell! She thought she had been dreaming until he charged into the camp swinging his sword. She saw him hack through the orcs. So great was their surprise that they gave way under the onslaught. Then she noticed that he was alone. Unfortunately the orcs had made the same observation and were closing in on the lone human.
She gasped as she saw an orcish blade pierce his thigh and draw blood. Then one of the dark creatures bashed her on the head and she tumbled into oblivion.//
At least now she knew that he had survived the fight, although at the moment, he was hardly in a desirable situation. Through the darkness, she could make out two figures chained to the cavern wall. The one with dark hair, Aragorn, seemed fine at the moment, but the second figure, a blonde, had been stripped to the waist and blood ran freely down his back.
The orc captain, Grishnak, inspected his handiwork and then walked over to where she was chained.
"So elf, you have company now," he taunted. "One of them is an elf, too! Can you imagine that? Two pretty little elves." He smirked.
The blonde was an elf. She could now make out the tips of the being's ears. They were indeed pointed. He was also glowing softly in the way only elves did.
"How disappointing: another silent elf. You were not so silent earlier, were you?"
Arwen could feel her face start to flush with shame. Aragorn and the blonde elf had probably heard her screams and become ensnared in the trap.
"Well, we donot need you here anymore."
Arwen thought he was going to kill right then and there, but instead he just pulled out a set of keys and unlocked her manacles. As soon as she was released, she collapsed, and her broken bones grated against raw nerves, blind hot agony tearing through her consciousness. The last thing she heard before the blackness claimed her was somebody screaming.
Aragorn saw Grishnak talking to Arwen and then heard her scream as she crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. "You promised you would not to hurt them!" he yelled, anger temporarily overcoming caution.
The orc strode back over. "Did I, now?"
"No," Aragorn admitted. The orc had not actually promised anything. "But at least allow me to tend to their injuries. If I do not, they may die, and then what will keep me, as you say, 'in line'?"
The orc raised an eyebrow. "You are indeed correct. We would not want them to die, would we?" he asked scornfully. "Of course you may tend to their injuries. But how can I be sure that you will not attempt to escape?"
"You know that I would not leave my friends behind. And I give you my word; it is all I can offer."
"Your word indeed," Grishnak sneered. "But I am a gracious host and shall grant your wish. Although it would do you good to remember that I will not hesitate to kill your friends should you break our agreement." He unlocked Aragorn's manacles, shouted something in the Black Tongue and left.
Aragorn winced as the blood rushed back into his fingers. He strode over first to the limp Arwen and assessed her injuries, for while Legolas's injuries were definitely painful they did not seem lethal. Only her broken arm and leg and an extremely severe burn were potentially fatal; the rest of her injuries were just painful. He noticed that one of the orcs had brought a bucket of water and a rag.
Aragorn found two branches that would make suitable splints lying around the cave. He then set her broken bones and tied on the splint with strips ripped from the hem of his tunic, and carefully wiped the area around her burn with another strip from his tunic, intentionally avoiding the provided rag. He noticed it was in the shape of the eye. But Sauron was hiding and Aragorn doubted that he was strong enough to reach this far. As he inspected the inflamed edges of her wound, he risked a glare at the orc captain. He would give a fortune for the opportunity to personally strangle the life out of Grishnak, and he would give more for Mandos to send the orc back, so he could do it all over again. As he cleaned her numerous cuts and welts, he noticed that many of them were already starting to heal, but that a few had been cauterized when there had been no need, probably as entertainment, although those burns were not quite as severe as the first.
He then carried the bucket over to where Legolas was chained. "Mellon-nîn, goheno nin. I am sorry," he murmured.
"What for?" Legolas asked, his voice husky his pain.
"Everything. Failing you. Being weak. Not being able to help. Letting them hurt you. Allowing an orc to nearly slit my throat. Getting us captured. Everything."
"U-moe edhored. It is not your fault. You did not mean for any of this to happen."
"True," Aragorn admitted, not convinced. Knowing that he would not be able to convince the elf otherwise at the moment, he changed the topic. "Legolas, I need to clean your wounds. It may hurt a little."
Legolas nodded and braced himself.
Aragorn gently wiped the blood away from the elf's back with a strip of his tunic, wincing as he saw the elf tense. He then picked Legolas's tunic off the ground and pressed it against the elf's back to stop the bleeding. He tore the rest of his tunic into strips to bind the makeshift bandage in place.
As soon as he tied off the elf's bandages, an orc came over and gave Aragorn a rough shove, sending him sprawling. Aragorn bit back a cry as the impact jarred his tender ribs. "You done yet?" it growled.
"Almost," Aragorn answered, pushing himself back upright, breathing slowly and deeply in an attempt to quell the pain. In truth, there was nothing left to do, but he needed to come up with an excuse to stay a little longer, especially after saying that he did. Grishnak would probably not be happy to know that he had been lying, and he couldnot bear to see Legolas or Arwen hurt again. As he got up, he felt his head swim little and remembered his own injuries. "I must bind my own wound. Your leader would not be pleased to find out that a prisoner in your care bled to death" Aragorn retorted with more confidence than he felt.
"No he would not," the orc grumbled. He gave Aragorn a final shove and left.
Aragorn inspected the cut in his thigh. It was still bleeding, but the rest of his injuries were almost fully healed. As he removed his undertunic and shredded it to clean and bind the wound, he heard the elf inhale sharply and looked up with alarm.
"What is wrong?"
Legolas simply stared at him, as if him gaze was self-explanatory.
It was. Aragorn looked down at himself and noticed the bruises mottling him torso and winced. "They are simply bruises. I shall be fine," he reassured, not sure whether he attempting to comfort his friend or himself. Eager to change the topic, he quickly asked the question that had been bothering him for some time. "Legolas, why Strider?"
Legolas paused then sighed, grinning slightly. "I honestly do not know. Because you stride?" Strider just seemed to fit the man.
Aragorn looked at him oddly.
"Well, at least it sounds fine!" Legolas retorted defensively. "I could have called you something worse…like Walker…" Legolas trailed off sheepishly.
Aragorn snorted quietly with wry amusement. This unfortunately garnered the attention of Grishnak, who decided that it was time for the human to be restrained again. Aragorn sighed and closed his eyes. Since he was going to be here for quite a while, he might as well try and get some sleep.
Legolas winced as he awoke. Upon suggestion by Aragorn, he had eventually fallen asleep. Luckily, none of the orc knew that elves sleep with their eyes open, or they would not have let him rest. As an orc approached him to unchain and rechain him with his back to the wall, he remembered the dagger he always kept in his boot.
He glanced at Aragorn. The human was still asleep. Escaping would have been easier with his help, but Legolas knew that it was only a matter of time before the orcs did a more thorough search and found his knife. He knew a small cave near here that he could hide. From there, well he would think of something. He really did not wish to leave Aragorn or Arwen behind, but he didnot see any other choice. Staying here certainly would not do any good.
Legolas feigned unconsciousness until he could feel that both his hands were free. Then he, in a single movement, pulled out his dagger and stabbed the orc through the heart and lung simultaneously. The orc was so shocked that he didnot even have time to scream before he toppled over, dead. Legolas quickly sidestepped the carcass and glanced at Arwen. She did not have any chains on. Legolas rushed over to her and woke her up. "Drego!" he hissed. She bolted out of the cavern as quickly as she could with her now splinted leg and melted into the forest.
That was when that other orcs noticed their dead companion. Thy surrounded the lone elf, making impossible his escape. "Surrender now and no one gets hurt!" Grishnak bellowed.
Legolas glared and threw his knife at the orc captain. If he was to die, he would take this miserable excuse of a living being down with him.
Unfortunately, another orc slammed a club down between his shoulder blades, spoiling his aim. Legolas's knife only grazed Grishnak's calf as it whizzed by. Legolas on the other hand, was knocked flat and then roughly hauled to his feet and slammed against the wall so violently that he could see bright yellow spots dancing across his vision. He cried out softly as he felt many of his whip wheals split open and warm blood soak the makeshift bandages.
After being chained to the wall again, Grishnak came over. "That was very bad of you, Elf."
Legolas threw him a look of pure venom.
Grishnak punched him in the stomach, stealing his breath. "Search him for more concealed weapons," the orc ordered.
Legolas tried not to flinch and looked straight ahead as he felt the orcs' hands roving all over his clothing. One of them discovered the parchment in his boot and pulled it out, handing it to Grishnak.
"What is this here?" Grishnak asked, uncrumpling the parchment and attempting to decipher his precise Sindarin.
"A letter to my father," Legolas snapped.
"Indeed." Grishnak clearly did not believe him. "Where is the she-elf?"
"Gone," Legolas muttered.
"Well, I hope your friend here can teach you to be a better little elf in the future. Chain the human where the she-elf was," he ordered, before Legolas could object.
Aragorn had been awakened by the commotion and was now struggling with the two orcs sent to restrain him. Legolas cringed as he saw an orc twist the human's arm too far back and heard the pop of his shoulder dislocating. Aragorn cried out and stilled, trying to fight the pain.
The orcs locked the man's wrists and ankles in the rough iron manacles, and then pulled the chains tighter, to account for the Man's greater height, eliciting a pained cry from the human as his dislocated shoulder was further wrenched.
"Stoke the fire," Grishnak ordered. He strode over to where Legolas's knife had dropped and inspected the blade. "Fine craftsmanship, very sharp," he observed.
Legolas could feel chills running down his spine, and they had nothing to do with the weather.
Elladan rode distractedly after his twin, as Elrohir tracked Arwen, Estel and Legolas. They had followed Asfaloth to the unused pass behind Rivendell and made a short side trip to tell their father what they had learned of the whereabouts of their sister, and to leave their horses in Rivendell. Near the pass, they had found not only the tracks of their sister and her horse, but also those of orcs. Scores of orcs. They had then tracked the orcs southward until they reached the western edge of Mirkwood. They had then found the faint tracks of someone following the orc trail, which they assumed to be Aragorn or Legolas. What had really worried Elladan was the blood found in one of the clearings. There had been black orc blood as well as some red human or elf blood. After that, the first set of tracks was joined by a second.
"El, have you noticed how dark the forest has gotten around here?" Elrohir asked his brother, allowing Raniean to track for a while.
Elladan was about to answer when he spotted a figure staggering through the woods. As it neared, he gave a cry of shock. It was Arwen! He raced towards her, just in time, as she collapsed in his arms. "Arwen! What is this evil that has befallen you?" he asked, as he saw her crudely splinted arm and leg and numerous other lacerations and bruises.
"Estel," she murmured desperately. "They have Estel."
"What of Legolas?" Raniean asked, fear in his voice.
"I…I…think they have him too," she answered, before passing out.
"Hurry!" Elladan said, carrying his limp sister in his arms. "We must stop this evil that has our friends."
Grishnak slowly turned the blade in the fire, waiting for it to glow red-hot. "So Ranger, would you like to feel an Elven blade against your own ribs?" the orc taunted, running his finger along the human's side, his nail, or claw rather, lightly breaking the skin. He smirked as he watched his captive try not to squirm under his touch. Legolas tried not to think about what was about to happen.
When Grishnak decided the blade was hot enough, he pulled it out of the flames, and held the glowing blade in front of Legolas's face. Legolas could feel the heat emanating from the heated steel. "Your own blade used against you: how tragic."
Legolas glanced at Aragorn. The human gave him what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile. Then Grishnak pressed the flat of the blade against the human's ribs. Legolas could smell the sickly scent of burned flesh, and watched with horror as the man's face went from pink to white to an unhealthy shade of green, as he tried not to scream. At last, the pain won out, and his cries echoed around the cavern. After the blade had cooled, Grishnak removed it from the human's side, and inspected the burn that he had made. He stroked it lightly, smiling as the human moaned softly in pain. "Our fun is just beginning," he whispered in his captive's ear.
Legolas's keen hearing picked up their conversation and felt his heart ache for his friend. "Stop," he implored.
"I am afraid that we have just started, my dear Elf," the orc answered. "Would you like to choose what I should use next? Or should I use your knife again?"
Legolas looked up and locked gazes with Aragorn. The human gave him a look of understanding through pain-filled silver eyes. "Do what you must," he murmured softly, so that only Legolas's acute Elven hearing could pick up his words.
Legolas looked back at Grishnak. "I…I…choose…I…I cannot…I cannot do this, please stop, use me instead, anything, just stop," he pleaded, his emotions getting the better of him.
"How touching," Grishnak mocked. "He wants me to stop. What do you say, boys?" he asked, turning to the orcs that had gathered to watch. He was greeted by a chorus of laughter and shouts for more. He turned back to Legolas and said, "I'm afraid that the common opinion does not agree with you, Elf. But I will stop if you tell me what is on this scrap of parchment."
Legolas could feel waves of helplessness wash over him. He had not lied; all that was on the scrap of parchment was a letter to his father. Legolas could think of nothing else to say, so he repeated his earlier statement. "It is a letter to my father."
"Indeed," Grishnak agreed sarcastically. He ran Legolas's Elven blade along Aragorn ribs, drawing a thin line of blood, and eliciting a breathless scream of agony it ran over the burn. Legolas could see the human breathing hard with his jaw clenched as he tried to control his pain and nausea. "I have an experiment," Grishnak informed Legolas. "It took you a full forty lashes before you began screaming. I wonder how many lashes it will take your dear human friend. Would you like to hazard a guess?"
Legolas found that he could not bring himself to meet the orc's eyes. But when the lashes began falling, he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the scene and he could not stop himself from counting the lashes delivered. About halfway through, the whip curled around Aragorn's side, causing him to cry out as the lash bit into his burn.
"Twenty-seven," Grishnak announced. "Carry out the full fifty," he ordered. He then smiled faintly at Legolas. "Looks like you are stronger than your weak human friend here. What ever convinced you to befriend a human?"
"Why does it matter?" Legolas asked bitterly. "You would not have treated him any differently had he been an elf."
"I…simply find it interesting," he replied. For a split second, Legolas thought he saw something flicker in the back of the orc's eyes, but then, it was gone. "What are you staring at, Elf?" Grishnak sneered, backhanding the elf across the face.
Legolas wondered whether if he angered the orc enough, he would forget about Aragorn. It was worth a try. "Your face," he muttered.
"What?"
"I was staring at your face," Legolas repeated quickly, before he lost his nerve.
Grishnak pulled his fist back to punch Legolas, but then stopped himself. "This is what you want, is it not? You want me to forget about your friend. I want you to know something, Elf: I am not who you think."
Legolas waited for the orc to continue, but instead, he just turned around and threw his punch at the human's already bruised abdomen. Aragorn gave a breathless cry of pain as he involuntarily tried to bend over and instead wrenched his injured shoulder. Legolas closed his eyes as he tried to shut out his surroundings, but his ears remained open and receptive to the orcs' taunts and the human's pain.
Elladan and Elrohir and the Mirkwood elves approached the cavern cautiously. Arwen had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past hour, but while she had been lucid, she had been able to give them directions to the orcs' lair. At the moment though, she was unconscious. Elladan gently set her down on the ground at the edge of the forest and hid her in the bushes, beseeching the plants of the forest to keep her safe.
As he drew closer to the caves, Elladan could hear someone screaming weakly in pain and another person shouting in anger and fear. Quickly dispatching of the orc sentries, they burst into the cavern. Elladan felt his heart catch in his throat at the scene unfolding before him. Aragorn was chained a few metres from the cavern wall, facing Legolas who was chained to the left wall. Aragorn was crying out as a rough wooden club repeatedly impacted against his bloody back and battered ribs. Legolas was shouting for the orcs to stop hurting the human and struggling against his manacles violently, albeit to no avail. Elladan could see blood trickling down his arms from lacerated wrists.
With a cry of rage, Elladan charged into the camp, slaying every orc he laid his eyes upon. He, Elrohir and Raniean made a beeline for the captives, while Trelan led the rest of the Elven warriors, pressing the orcs farther back into the cave. Elrohir pulled out two pins and set to work, picking the locks on Legolas's and then Aragorn's shackles. Raniean and Elladan kept the seething mass of orcs back.
As Trelan pushed the orcs to the far corner of the cave, Elladan and Elrohir turned to their brother. "Estel, are you alright?" Elladan asked worriedly, although, surveying the human's injuries, he knew that Estel was at the moment, not very alright.
"Been better," their little brother ground out, trying very hard to stay upright and willing his breathing to return to normal. This was made difficult though by the fact that every time he attempted to inhale deeply, a sharp spasm of pain shot through his chest. The pain overwhelmed him and collapsed forward onto his knees. Unfortunately, all this did was cause the pain to increase dramatically. He closed his eyes grit his teeth, trying not to retch, as he knew this would only worsen the situation.
The twins quickly helped their brother lie down, which straightened him out and eased his breathing and the pain in his chest a little. In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, Elrohir managed to jest, "That might be a little bit of an understatement," and gave a dry snort of laughter despite the gravity of the situation.
Aragorn opened his eyes and looked up, the corners of his mouth turned up in the faintest semblance of a grin. "Really?"
For some bizarre reason Elladan doubted he would ever be able to fathom, Aragorn seemed to find nearly anything and everything amusing. "Yes. Estel, I am glad that you are safe now."
"Hantale," Aragorn said sincerely, looking at his brothers gratefully. A violent bout of coughing ripped through him and he twisted, trying to turn over.
Elladan pinned Aragorn down by his shoulders. "Do not move, Estel!"
Aragorn attempted to comply but the coughs wracking through his system were simply too much for him to bear. He continued coughing and, in his panic at being unable to draw air into his starved lungs, began struggling weakly against Elladan's grip.
Elrohir quickly placed a drugged handkerchief over Aragorn's mouth and nose.
Elladan slowly let go as the human stopped coughing and struggling and slipped into unconsciousness. Elladan was alarmed to see the human's blood on his hands and flecked across his soft leather jerkin. He and Elrohir gently moved Aragorn onto a spare cloak laid out on the ground. He nodded at Elrohir to check over Legolas.
Elladan bent over Aragorn, looking for more serious injuries and was not happy at what he discovered. Besides bruising, lacerations and abrasions over most of his torso, Estel had managed to acquire a dislocated shoulder, several fracture ribs and at least three fracture in multiple places, a severe burn on his side, and a deep cut in his thigh that had at least been crudely bandaged, saving the man from bleeding to death.
Elrohir quickly returned to his twin's side, not finding any injuries threatening life or limb on the more resilient wood-elf.
"Ro, I am in need of assistance in relocating Estel's shoulder. Will you hold him?"
Elrohir nodded affirmative and grasped the human firmly.
Elladan moved the limb back into its correct location and the joint popped back into place nicely. Elladan winced slightly, glad that the human was unconscious.
"Lord Elrohir, say again how to tell whether sutures are needed," Raniean called.
Elrohir sighed and strode over. He had forgotten that Raniean had not been trained in the healing arts.
Elladan cleaned Aragorn's wounds gently and sutured some of his more serious cuts. He swathed some bandage loosely around his torso, mainly to keep dirt out of the wounds. He knew he could not bind the ribs to splint them, as that would restrict the man's breathing, and hoped that Aragorn would for once stay still.
Aragorn had awoken again, and Elladan and Elrohir were just about finished treating Aragorn and Legolas's injuries, when Raniean brought up the fact that Arwen was still in the forest.
"You left her outside? Alone?" Aragorn asked incredulously.
"Yes, we had no choice," Raniean replied calmly, saving the twins from having to explain and calm their by now extremely irritated brother. "But Elladan and Elrohir will go right now to bring her here, so you can calm down. I am sure she will be fine."
Elladan and Elrohir quickly left to check on their sister, leaving a sputtering Aragorn with the Mirkwood elves. Despite Raniean's reassurances, Elladan was getting a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Elvish Translations
Dôl lost lîn – Your head is empty
Lasto lalaith-nîn – hear my laughter
Pith dîn saew – His words (are) poison. (the "to be" verb is irregular in Sindarin, and often not used)
Ú-lasto hon – Do not listen to him
Ú-belin cared hen – I cannot do this.
Mellon-nîn – my friend
Caro i le boe – Do what is necessary (lit. do what for you is necessary)
Nana – Mom/Mommy
Iôn-nin – My son
Onen I-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim. – I gave Hope to the Dúnadain, I have kept no hope for myself.
Goheno nin – forgive me
U-moe edhored – there if nothing to forgive
Drego! – Flee!
Hantale – thanks (Quenya)