Chapter Two – Prizes For Saruman
FOUR MONTHS AGO
The cellar was usually mostly empty, save for a few stacks of chairs and shelves of memorable items. Now, with most of Mirkwood's she-elves and elflings inside, it was packed tight. Belle was among them. She was no longer as hysterical as some of the other she-elves were, but there were silent tears that fell from her eyes every so often. She stood against the wall, close to the stairs leading down into the cellar. She stared up at the door, waiting for Legolas to return to her.
"My lady?"
Belle turned towards the voice. It was Morwen, one of the she-elves that worked in the castle. She mostly took care of the level on which Legolas and Belle's bedroom was located. Belle considered Morwen one of her closest friends in Mirkwood.
"Morwen." Belle replied simply, her voice sounding dead, even to her own ears.
"My lady, if I may speak frankly, you look terrible. Please, come and sit with me somewhere away from the door. This cannot be helping you." Morwen offered one of her hands to Belle.
"I want to be right here when he comes." Belle pointed to the spot upon which she stood.
"Well, if you will not come with me, then I will remain here with you." Morwen immediately pressed her back to the wall beside Belle. She gave her a small smile. "Everything will be alright my lady."
Belle nodded once before returning her eyes to the door. She shuddered whenever the castle did, and felt more tears sliding down her cheeks when she crawled far enough inside of her head. She wasn't aware of it, but Morwen gently wiped away the tears that escaped Belle's eyes.
After a time, the shaking stopped. Belle's ears picked up on the sounds of assimilated footsteps. Most of them sounded like elven footsteps. She listened to them, hoping to hear them draw closer to the castle. But, she listened instead, as they faded into the distance. And then, the majority of the footsteps she heard were orcs.
The door to the cellar opened, and there stood a huge orc. He wielded a sword, stained with blood.
"All of you get up here. Now." He commanded, stepping aside. He pointed with his sword towards the outside.
None of the she-elves moved. Belle stood, staring up at the orc, unsure of what to do. She closed her eyes, and remembered what Legolas had told her so many days ago.
"If you are taken captive, you do whatever you are told…within reason."
After another moment of contemplation, Belle slowly began to walk up the stairs. When Morwen grabbed her arm, Belle gently shook her off. She turned to face the she-elves and the elflings that clung to them, frightened.
"Come. Follow me."
"You had better get up here before I come down there to get you." The orc suddenly spoke again, his tone threatening.
Belle turned and led the way up the stairs. Once she had gotten to the top, she stepped aside to allow the others passage. She touched each of the she-elves' shoulders comfortingly as they walked past her. Her fingers glided across the cheeks of the elflings. Each time she did those things, she remembered something else Legolas had told her.
"I know that you are shy and soft spoken, but you are also extremely caring and giving. If you are taken captive with others, or are hiding with others, comfort them as best as you can. Give them hope. I know that you are strong enough to."
"Come on." The orc that had been standing at the door suddenly shoved Belle. She realized that the cellar was clear. She stumbled forward many steps before she regained her balance. Morwen's hands found her arm to steady her.
Belle brought up the back of the sea of she-elves and elflings. They were being led outside of the castle. When they came upon the outside, none of them were prepared for what they were met with. There were several bodies, of both orc and elf, strewn across the ground, and pools of blood that stained the grass. Fallen swords and bows, as well as cannons and places where bombs had obviously gone off, stretched as far as the she-elves could see. Many of them covered their elflings' eyes. Some of them closed their own.
Belle looked around, searching the trees for a familiar face. The only elves she saw were dead on the ground. Her chest began to ache, just as it had when she had been hiding under the bed. She began to silently pray that none of the bodies was Legolas.
"Belleruraina!"
Belle looked up to see King Thranduil standing near the castle. When their eyes met, he moved to go to her, but was stopped by the same orc that had retrieved the she-elves. Belle then decided to try and go to him. She turned and began to make her way back up the castle steps towards him.
"Where do you think you are going?" An orc grabbed Belle's arm. "Get back to where you belong before I drag you down there by your ears."
Belle looked desperately at King Thranduil, and saw the same desperation mirrored in his eyes. But, she returned to the she-elves and elflings. All of them had stopped at the bottom of the steps. They waited while ten orcs came to stand in a row in front of them. Then, they began to talk amongst themselves. Though they spoke in grumbles and whispers, elven ears heard them easily.
Belle listened as the orcs went over their plan. They were going to take the she-elves to Saruman, the White Wizard. The orcs were going to offer the she-elves to Saruman as prizes, as treasures. None of the she-elves were to be soiled, mutilated, or eaten. Penalty of breaking those rules was death.
Belle turned to look at the she-elves, who had heard everything she had. All of them looked horrified, and all of them looked frightened. Their faces were white, and their eyes were wide. Their elflings began to become just as frightened.
"Orcs," Belle cleared her throat when her voice came out in a whisper, "orcs."
They turned to look at her, curious and amused.
"I wish to have an audience with you, to discuss the plans that you are making."
"Oh? You wish to have an audience with us?" One of the orcs mocked her, while the others laughed like jackals. "Well just who are you?"
"I am Legolas Thranduilion's fiancé." Belle tried to sound as brave and bold as possible, though she could still hear how numb and dead she sounded at the core. She set her jaw and looked from each face to the next.
The biggest of the orcs, clearly the leader, silenced the laughter of the others. He pointed to Belle, and then motioned her to come to them.
"Just what have you to say?" He asked her. Belle was surprised at the way he spoke. Usually, orcs growled and slurred when they spoke. But the leader sounded more distinguished. His voice was almost human.
"I have some propositions for you that I would like all of you to consider." Belle swallowed hard before she continued, the wheels in her mind turning as she thought of what to say to the orcs. "The first is that you should consider leaving behind some of the she-elves."
Immediately, the laughter started up again. Even the leader joined in.
"And why should we consider that?" He asked amidst the laughter.
"The she-elves with elflings, and the she-elves who are with child, will slow everyone down. They require more time and more rests. If you leave them behind, we can make the journey to Saruman much faster. However, if you risk it, and bring those she-elves along, then you will risk other orcs getting to Saruman before us with other treasure to offer, and they will be the ones in his favor, not any of you."
By the time Belle had finished, none of the orcs were laughing. It was clear that all of them were considering what she had just suggested. Especially the leader.
"Throduk, she has a point." One of the smaller orcs whispered to the leader.
"I know that she has a point!" Throduk shouted angrily at the orc, threatening to strike him with his sword. The smaller orc backed away quickly, whimpering like a kicked dog. Throduk turned back to Belle. "Alright, she-elf, I admit that you have made a good point. I will allow the she-elves with children, born and unborn, to go free."
Throduk snapped his fingers, and suddenly, other orcs assembled. They moved throughout the crowd, weeding out the she-elves who were pregnant, and those clutching onto their elflings. They shooed them off in packs, telling them to leave Mirkwood before they were caught in the fires that were going to be started. Some of the orcs kicked the she-elves, or shoved them to the ground. They laughed and jested.
"What else have you to say?" Throduk asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Myself, and the remaining she-elves, will hand over our jewelry and other valuable items to you, if you let the king go free." Belle looked back at where King Thranduil stood.
"We were going to take those things from the lot of you anyways." Throduk said with a smirk. "If that is all-"
"Well then perhaps this will sway your decision. If you kill the king, there will be an uprising beyond your imagination. King Thranduil is beloved by the other kingdoms of elves, and they will all band together against you if you slay him. I doubt that Saruman would look with favor upon the empty headed ones responsible for that." Belle could hardly believe the way she jumped to King Thranduil's defense. She felt as though she were a snarling animal protecting its babies. She had never seen or heard this part of herself before.
Throduk went to where Belle stood. He towered two heads taller than her, his muscles and girth menacing. He looked down at her, clearly agitated by her words.
"You should learn how to speak to your superiors." Throduk growled, sounding like a true orc for the first time since Belle had encountered him. He let an open hand strike Belle across the face once before he turned his attention to the orc holding the king hostage at the castle doors. "Release the king!"
Belle held the side of her face that Throduk had hit. It stung. There were tears that had sprung into her eyes as his hand had connected with her face. But she was unbelievably grateful that she had somehow talked Throduk into releasing Legolas' father.
"No! I demand that my life be exchanged for the lives of the she-elves!" King Thranduil struggled against the orc that held him prisoner as they started down the stairs. "Set them free! Take me instead! Set them free!"
"We already have your son. We have no use for you." Throduk answered.
Belle's head snapped back to Throduk. The pain in her face was forgotten the moment she heard him mention Legolas.
"What have you done with Legolas? What have you done with my fiancé?"
"Your precious prince insisted that we take him prisoner. We were going to burn the castle to the ground, with all of you inside, but he offered himself to us to spare your lives." Throduk grinned at Belle. "It is too bad that he was not more specific about his demands. He only asked that we keep the lot of you alive. He said nothing about what we had to do with all of you."
Belle, overcome with emotions as she envisioned Legolas in chains, threw herself down at Throduk's feet. She began to sob, breaking the hard exterior she had put up in front of the orcs. Her true self emerged as she let her emotions flood out.
"Please, please take me instead. Release Legolas. Take me." She shook at Throduk's feet. Her hands clasped his feet, which were caked in mud and grass. "Take me."
"Get her up." Throduk mumbled to one of the orcs. Belle was suddenly thrust to her feet. She looked up at Throduk, who looked heavily amused with the performance she had just given. "Strip the she-elves of their jewelry, and anything else that might be of value. We are going to set fire to Mirkwood in a matter of moments."
The orcs spread out, quickly pruning the she-elves of their valuables. One of the orcs searched Belle, but only found one thing of value on her.
"No! Please don't take my ring!" Belle struggled against the orc as he grabbed her wrist and tried to maneuver the engagement ring from her finger. She tried with all her might to pull away from him, but the orc managed to get the ring off her finger. Once he had it, he shoved Belle roughly to the ground with an annoyed grunt.
After the search was complete, Throduk began shouting commands to the orcs. The she-elves were all herded together. Some of them were lifted onto the backs of orcs. Others were simply grouped together and put between two orcs.
As King Thranduil passed Belle, he reached out to her. She, in turn, reached her own hand out towards his. Her fingers touched his. He tried to move his around hers, to latch onto her in some way. She found herself doing the same thing, though she didn't know what good was going to come of it. Their eyes stayed locked onto one another's, shear desperation and sadness filling them.
The orc that had been trying to pull the king along finally managed to get him moving again. Belle cried out as she tried to keep hold of his fingers. But, after a moment, he was ripped from her. Her hand stayed outstretched, as though she could still reach him. Tears filled her eyes as she watched him being taken in the same direction as the she-elves who had gotten to be freed were taken.
"My lady, hurry, before you are hit again." Morwen was suddenly at Belle's side, pulling her along. Belle allowed herself to be dragged, for she didn't know if she had the strength to carry herself at that moment.
It was silent between the two she-elves for a long time. The only sounds were of the orcs, and of the crying of the she-elves around them.
"You did a very brave thing…Legolas would have been so proud of you." Morwen murmured, reaching down to hold Belle's hand. "I am very proud of you."
Belle remembered Legolas' words to her once more.
"I know that you are shy and soft spoken, but you are also extremely caring and giving. If you are taken captive with others, or are hiding with others, comfort them as best as you can. Give them hope. I know that you are strong enough to."
"What are we going to do my lady?" A she-elf asked, bumping into Belle as she walked.
"Yes, what will we do?" Another asked, turning around to look at her with tear filled eyes.
Belle looked around at the she-elves as they trudged along, being shoved every so often by one of the orcs. The ones that were riding upon orcs were at the head of the pack, for those orcs were running. She thought about what she had heard being discussed among the orcs before she had spoken with them.
"Do not worry," Belle whispered to none of them in particular, "I have a plan."