Chapter Seven - Escape

"STOP!"

Belle, who had been watching Morwen as she rode on the back of an orc, was startled when Throduk suddenly bellowed from the front of the pack. She looked to where he was pushing through the confused orcs. He came to the rear, and sniffed the air.

"What is it Throduk?" The orc who was carrying Morwen asked.

"Uruk-hai. They are headed this way." Throduk turned and grinned at the orc who had spoken to him. "Let us wait for them."

The orc happily shoved Morwen off of his back. Belle threw her arms out to catch her. The both of them fell back on the ground, emitting laughter from many of the orc around them.

"Are you alright Morwen?" Belle asked quietly as she held Morwen across her lap.

"Yes." She answered weakly, barely opening her eyes to look up at Belle.

Belle unscrewed the lid of her canteen, which had just been filled with water not long ago, and spilled some of it into Morwen's mouth. She coughed most of it up, and so, Belle spilled more down her throat.

"You should…tell Throduk-"

"Hush Morwen." Belle pressed two fingers to Morwen's lips. She replaced the cap to her canteen, keeping her fingers over her friend's mouth. "I am not going to give up on you."

"But-"

"Morwen," Belle leaned in closer to her friend, and brought her voice to a whisper that only another elf could hear, "I am going to get you out of here."

Belle waited for Morwen to drift into a fevered sleep before removing her fingers. She stroked Morwen's red hair. The fever had gotten worse. Her skin was so hot that Belle began to sweat with her body so close. She wiped away the perspiration at her forehead, wondering silently if it was truly Morwen's heat that was causing her to sweat, or if she was becoming ill too.

Anne joined Belle and Morwen after she had made her way through the orcs. She seemed to notice Belle sweating, and grew worried, but Belle assured her that it was Morwen's heat that was the cause. Anne gently took Morwen into her lap to relieve Belle.

After an hour had passed, the thundering Uruk-hai had arrived to the spot where the orcs and she-elves rested, waiting. They stopped in their tracks when they came to the place.

It made Belle shudder to look upon the Uruk-hai, for they had once been elves. Any trace of their former selves had disappeared. They were even more grotesque than the orcs, and even meaner.

"What are you doing here?" One of the Uruk-hai stepped out of the pack, approaching Throduk. Belle could see that even Throduk was intimidated.

"We are going to Saruman with these she-elves," Throduk motioned to the she-elves on the ground, "to offer to him as treasure."

The single Uruk-hai snorted. Throduk, visibly angered by this, reached down and grabbed Belle. He pulled her to her feet in a single motion. He then pushed her forward, his hand still grasping her arm, to show her to the Uruk-hai. Belle felt vulnerable as the Uruk-hai looked her over, his eyes running over the length of her body. He then took a step towards her to smell her. She shivered involuntarily. The Uruk-hai grunted in approval as he stepped away.

"What are you doing here?" Throduk challenged, throwing Belle back to the ground.

The Uruk-hai appeared to be amused by Throduk. He snapped his fingers, and immediately, two Uruk-hai were heading to the front. Belle's eyes grew wide as she saw two Hobbits on the backs of the Uruk-hai. One of them was very alert, looking all around at his surroundings, while the other appeared to be sleeping.

Belle inhaled the air. Though her elven senses had dulled since becoming progressively weaker since having been taken, she could smell the beginnings of illness on one of the Hobbits. She assumed it was the sleeping one.

"They bear the ring of Sauron. We are bringing it to Saruman."

Belle was just as stunned as Throduk. She looked at the Hobbits once more. The alert one caught her eyes. They stared at each other, both wide eyed and curious. Belle could smell the same fear on the Hobbit, the same fear that she was sure she smelled of. She was confused, however, that she couldn't sense the presence of the ring on either of the Hobbits.

"If you let us travel with you, we will give you something of great value." Throduk finally was able to speak, after having been shocked by the news that the Uruk-hai had been able to find the ring.

"What could you possibly offer-"

"We took many precious and valuable items from Mirkwood, and from the she-elves. We will give to you half of those things."

"Hmm." The Uruk-hai appeared to consider the bargain. He suddenly pointed a finger at the she-elves. "I will also require one of them."

"…which?" Throduk asked warily, his eyes on the she-elves.

"That one. The one that you showed to me."

Belle's wide eyes went to the Uruk-hai. They then flashed to Throduk. Their eyes met, and Throduk turned back to the Uruk-hai.

"No. She is the best of the she-elves that we have, and she was also betrothed to Legolas Thranduilion, the prince of Mirkwood. She may have information she could pass along to Saruman. She goes to him." Throduk then looked down at Belle with an evil smile. "After that, however, I will ask Saruman to give her to you."

The Uruk-hai considered the proposition. After a moment, he nodded.

"You had best keep up with us. I smell man flesh." The Uruk-hai, as well as the rest of them and the orcs, inhaled. They must have caught the same scent, for they began to assemble to continue moving.

Belle's ears perked up considerably when she heard the Hobbit who was awake whisper a name that, when it registered with her, brought great hope into her heart.

Aragorn.

That night, when they stopped, the Uruk-hai left the Hobbits in the tent with the she-elves. Belle immediately went to where the ill one lay. She held his head in her lap while she put her canteen to his lips and let him drink her water. The other Hobbit sat beside her. When the one in her lap had enough water, Belle handed the canteen to the other.

"Thank you." He said quickly before he drank. After he had finished, he handed the canteen back to Belle. "What is your name?"

"My name is Belleruraina. What are yours?" Belle looked from the Hobbit in her lap to the Hobbit sitting next to her.

"My name is Pippin." The one sitting next to her said.

"My name is Merry."

Belle stroked Merry's curls. Her fingers touched the laceration at his head. It had stopped bleeding, but was dirty. She used what water was left over in her canteen to clean his wound. She rubbed away the dry blood and dirt with the end of her dress.

"Pippin, I heard you say a name earlier today. I heard you speak the name Aragorn." Belle turned to Pippin after she had finished cleaning Merry's head. "Were you with him when you were taken? Is he the man whom the Uruk-hai smelled?"

"Yes. Merry and I were part of the fellowship that was going to Mordor to destroy the ring. Aragorn was also part of the fellowship." Pippin answered, lowering his voice considerably.

"The ring that you carry?" Belle asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Pippin looked all around him before he leaned in very close to Belle. He put his lips directly to her ear.

"We do not have the ring. The only reason that we are still alive is because the Uruk-hai think that we have it." He whispered.

"It is a good thing you kept up with the charade then." Belle replied just as quietly.

"Belleruraina, I heard the orc say that you were betrothed to Legolas." Merry suddenly sat up. He turned to look at Belle. Her face grew very sad when he mentioned him, and her chest began to throb. Merry noticed her face, and placed a hand over hers. "Do not worry. He will be here soon to rescue us."

Belle's face changed as the words left Merry's mouth. The pain that she had once felt in her chest disappeared almost immediately. She grabbed Merry's hand in hers, clutching at it desperately as though she might fall from a great height and he was the only thing she could grab onto.

"Legolas? He is alive? He is with Aragorn?" Belle's questions ran together frantically. She felt the urge to grab Merry and shake him when he didn't answer her fast enough. In fact, he looked confused.

"What do you mean 'he is alive?'?" Merry asked, looking confusedly from Pippin to Belle.

"I have been separated from him for four months. The last time I saw him…" Belle closed her eyes as she felt many tears rushing to them to be the first ones free.

"I will come back for you."

"The last time I saw Legolas was in Mirkwood, the day that it was attacked by the orcs. He was taken captive, but the orcs who had custody of him traveled further ahead of the pack we were taken by. I…I thought…"

Belle opened her eyes, silent tears trickling down her face.

"Legolas is alive, and well." Merry rubbed Belle's arm. "He will be here soon. You will be reunited soon."

"I want to hear about your travels. Tell me what the fellowship has been through since your journey began." Belle wiped away her tears, trying to embrace the hopeful words that Merry had spoken.

But, she couldn't help but feel as though what he said would never happen.

Days later, when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli still hadn't turned up, Belle had washed her hands of the faint hope she had felt when Merry had told her that her husband was alive. Merry and Pippin had told Belle about their experiences since starting out from the Shire, and had ended with the battle against the Uruk-hai. Their companion, Boromir, had fallen there. They had seen it before the Uruk-hai had snatched them up. Belle was beginning to believe that Legolas had been slain by an Uruk-hai, but that Merry and Pippin hadn't been there to see it.

Merry had grown stronger, while Morwen had grown weaker. Belle and Anne took care of her, giving up their rations of food and most of their water, but Morwen continued to get more and more ill. And Belle was beginning to feel herself succumbing to the illness that wanted to take over her body.

The Uruk-hai and orcs had heard the talking between the she-elves and Hobbits, and worried that they were conspiring. They separated them by forcing the Hobbits to sleep outside of the tent.

"You and Morwen need to escape. Tonight." Belle tore off one of the sleeves of her tattered dress and soaked it in water from her canteen. She placed it on Morwen's hot forehead, applying pressure so that water squeezed out from the sleeve and fell back into her hair and down her face. "You must try to help the Hobbits to escape with you if you can."

"Belle, I am not leaving you here alone." Anne told her, tucking the cloaks around Morwen.

"You must. It is already risky for you to be escaping with Morwen, since she is ill. But if you do not leave tonight, I fear for what will happen to Morwen. She needs medicine." Belle ran her hand along Morwen's cheek as her teeth chattered. "If you cannot help the Hobbits tonight, I will help them another night."

"Belle…what will happen to you if you are left alone?" Anne asked worriedly. Her face grew more concerned when Belle began to cough, her hand flying to cover her mouth to muffle the sound. "You are ill too."

"No I am not." Belle insisted, clearing her throat.

"I can smell it on you." Anne murmured, putting her hand on Belle's.

"The scent you pick up on is from Morwen." Belle's eyes were just as insistent as her tone. Her point was finally conveyed to Anne when her hand became heavier on hers. Anne's eyes began to fill with tears, but Belle shook her head. "Do not cry for me Anne. I want it to be this way."

"How could you possibly want this?" Anne asked quietly, her voice breaking with emotion.

"Anne what have I to live for?" Belle asked, pausing after her question as she began to cough again. She took a small sip of what water was left in her canteen. "The elf that I love is dead. He was everything to me, and he is gone. I want to go and be with him."

Belle and Anne embraced for a long time after that. Though Anne didn't want to let Belle allow the illness to slowly kill her, she knew how it felt to have someone you loved ripped away from you. Anne knew not of what happened to her parents in the attack. She, like Belle, assumed that her loved ones had died. There were times when Anne had wanted to give up and join her family in the Halls of Mandos.

Suddenly, there were sounds of fighting outside the tent. Belle motioned for Anne to stay where she was, and crept out of the tent. The Uruk-hai and orcs were fighting amongst each other. Belle's eyes found the two Hobbits lying on the ground, their hands bound. She watched them trying to crawl towards the woods. Belle whirled around and flew into the tent.

"Get Morwen up. Hurry." Belle ripped the cloaks off of Morwen.

"What?" Anne asked, both startled and confused.

"There is a distraction. Get up. It is time for you two to escape." Belle helped Morwen to her feet and hurriedly put two of the cloaks on her. She fastened the few buttons that had been salvaged while Anne put on the last cloak. "Go deep into the woods and hide. Stay put, stay hidden, until after we have moved."

Anne pulled one of Morwen's arms around her neck. Morwen leaned most of her weight on Anne.

"Belle…" Morwen whispered.

"Everything is going to be alright Morwen." Belle took Morwen's face into her hands. She ran her thumbs along Morwen's skin as she saw tears welling in her friend's eyes. "You are going to be fine. I promise."

"Belle, come with us." Anne begged, tears already flowing down her cheeks.

"You know I cannot. If all three of us go missing, they will hunt for us." Belle brushed Anne's cheek tenderly before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Good luck my friends."

Anne and Morwen hobbled to the flaps of the tent. Belle went outside first. She watched as Throduk killed an orc. The Uruk-hai and orcs leapt forward to devour the dead orc's body. Belle turned to Anne and Morwen, and motioned for them to go. She watched as Anne, trying to move as quickly as possible, helped Morwen towards the woods.

Belle turned back to see that an orc had strayed. He was creeping up on Merry and Pippin as they crawled towards the woods. Wanting to help them, and also not wanting the orc to see Anne and Morwen, Belle ran towards the orc. She lifted a good sized rock off of the ground as she ran towards the orc, and was about to hurl it at him when, suddenly Belle became aware of several horses' hooves pounding. She stopped in her tracks just as a horse rode past the orc, the rider stabbing him through with his sword.

All of a sudden, the place was swarming with riders upon horses. They battled against the Uruk-hai and orcs, who quickly gathered their weapons to fight. Amidst the fighting, Belle was grabbed by an Uruk-hai. She recognized him as the one whom she had been promised to. He yanked her against his body, one hand holding her hair. He pressed his nose to her neck, and Belle reacted the way she had four months ago when two orcs had tried to take advantage of her. She threw her elbow back into the Uruk-hai's ribs as hard as she could. As a result, she was thrown face first into the ground.

Belle hugged her arms close to her body as she heard, and felt, a horse coming upon where she lay. She lifted her head to see the rider decapitate the Uruk-hai who had tried to take advantage of her. Belle quickly sat up and looked to where she had seen the Hobbits before. She couldn't see them there. She was afraid that they had been grabbed up or worse.

"Merry! Pippin!" Belle called, getting to her feet. She ran through the chaos, dodging the horses as they stampeded across the field. She cupped her hands around her mouth, calling for the Hobbits between coughing fits.

Soon, the field was covered in the bodies of Uruk-hai and orcs. Belle's eyes scanned the bodies for the Hobbits. As she did, a horse approached her. She turned to see that it was the horse belonging to the rider that had saved her. When she turned to look at him, he pulled back the reigns and his horse came to a halt. He dismounted his horse and removed his helmet in almost the same movement.

"She-elf." The man addressed her. He appeared to be trying to decide what to say to her, what to do with her. Belle didn't care either way. She began to cough once more, and put her hands on her knees when it became more violent. She didn't hear the man approach her over the sounds of her coughing.

"Who are you she-elf? How have you come to be here?" He asked, his tone still holding the same intensity as before, but his voice was much quieter.

"Mirkwood." Belle managed to say, her voice hoarse. She slowly stood upright, though she swayed on her feet. "They…attacked Mirkwood."

The man called out to one of his companions. Belle looked away from him, her eyes darting along the woods. She hoped that Anne and Morwen, and Merry and Pippin had gotten away safely. She turned back to the man to ask him, but found that she could barely focus her eyes on him. The images before her blurred and swayed.

"The Hobbits…she-elves…" She went to take a step forward but decided that was a bad idea as she dizzied further.

"She-elf, I have heard of the attack on Mirkwood. One of my companions will take you to Rohan. You can be cared for there." The man continued to speak to Belle, but she could barely hear him. His voice was muddled, as though she was sinking into water, and he was above the surface.

"Legolas." Belle whispered, knowing that her body was giving out.

She pitched forward, falling into the man's arms, who had noticed her swaying and had moved closer just in time to catch her. The last thing that Belle remembered before she faded away was the sound of the man's voice calling out to someone.