Chapter 2: Inevitable
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When the Orcs finally stopped to make camp for the night, for the first time Aragorn wondered about this, as they usually avoided daylight and traveled in the dark. Something about these creatures seemed different, which made the whole situation even more abominable, since he did not know if they were as stupid as commonly known or maybe of another breed.
He sighed; he would find out soon enough.
Although he felt slightly weary, not having slept more than a few hours the previous night, he stayed alert.
But there was no chance to get near the elf unseen, as the Orc who had been carrying Legolas had unceremoniously dumped him on the ground right in the company´s middle. There he was left lying, the Orcs being only interested in their food.
Early the following morning they broke camp and headed off again; Aragorn had tried to eavesdrop in order to get to know why in goodness´ sake they had captured the elf, but the Orcs had hardly talked at all.
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Aragorn followed them in a safe distance all day. That night, Legolas ended up as a heap on the ground as well. The ranger had not much hope left that his friend might still be alive; he had not seen anyone giving him any water at least, and his body looked terribly lifeless. The Orcs, however, did not ignore their prisoner again, but tried to wake him up. They emptied one of their waterskins about him and kicked him, but to no avail. Aragorn balled his hands into fists, having a hard time watching it. He briefly considered an ambush, but knew he would not be fast enough to kill the whole group before they would strike back, and he did not have enough arrows anyway. They might kill Legolas before the end.
When the elf still did not stir, one of the Orcs, an unusual big and brawny fellow, took his scimitar and knelt down next to the unconscious figure: "I have had it", he growled, "if the scum does not want to wake up, I will make it!" He grabbed Legolas´ ear, obviously intending to cut it off. But before the blade touched the skin, a sudden voice rang out: "Stop!"
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The Orcs gaped. There, right in front of them, stood a man. He seemed to be alone and looked slightly ragged, but something in his voice demanded their full attention.
The Orc who had wanted to cut off the elf´s ear got up and glared at him: "What do you want?", he barked. "Who are you to get in my way?"
Aragorn felt cold fury welling up in him. He dreaded what was to come, but he did no have another choice if he wanted to get Legolas out of there as unscathed as possible.
"I want you to take your filthy hands off the elf", he said, "and it is none of your business who I am." His voice, though quiet, reminded of a predator shortly before it attacked, and rendered the Orc, who obviously considered himself to be the leader of the group, speechless for a moment. He then broke into a malicious grin, which never reached his eyes: "You seem unable to count", he snarled, "for you are outnumbered by far but still think you can simply demand us to do as you please?"
The other Orcs snickered.
Their leader continued: "Let me make this clear", he said, "I am in command here, and if I wish, you will die just because you interrupted me."
Aragorn was well aware of the Orcs who had by now surrounded him, but there was no turning back.
"What do you want with him?", he demanded.
"No", the Orc said slowly, approaching him. "What do you want with him?"
Aragorn just stared at him.
"You seem to know him", the Orc said,leering. "Which might spare us the efforts of trying to wake him, since we can just ask you about what we want know."
With that, he nodded towards his men, who grabbed Aragorn´s arms and held him firmly. Aragorn hated this, but at least he had momentarily drawn the creature´s attention away from Legolas.
"What did you do to him?", he growled.
"Oh, just a few blows to the head when he would not cooperate", the Orc said lightly. "But it is I who asks the questions here!"
Inwardly, Aragorn winced. A few blows to the head could mean anything, and if Legolas had not woken up since, he seemed to be seriously hurt.
"So", the Orc leaned forward to face the man, "who are you?"
Aragorn said nothing.
The Orc shook his head: "You will gain nothing out of this but the wish that you had never shown yourself", he spat, "but if you answer me you might at least make things easier for our little prince here. Or- just for you to get my meaning, I will have to continue and cut him to shreds before your very eyes. See if that will make you reconsider."
The others had meanwhile disarmed Aragorn, and one of them advanced their leader now and showed him the weapons.
"Of elvish make", he observed and looked at his second captive with new interest.
Aragorn ground his teeth and called himself a fool for bringing himself into this situation. But he could not have let the Orc mutilate Legolas.
He was well aware that he would have a hard time to keep their captors from doing exactly that without giving anything away. He wondered about the intelligence they wished to gather from the elf; they already knew that Legolas was a prince, so it might have something to do with the realm of Mirkwood, but he might as well stop speculating.
The Orc assessed Aragorn´s stony face: "Maybe I shall just start and see what happens as I go along", he said with a nasty grin, and motioned for his men to bring Legolas. They picked him up and dropped him on the ground right before Aragorn. He beheld Legolas´ pale face, blood-crusted at the temple, and could not but worry for him.
The Orc knelt down next to him and grabbed his ear again.
"Stop it!", Aragorn yelled. "I will tell you what you need to know, just leave him be."
The Orc considered this: "No, I think I will cut off his ear nevertheless, to remind you of what happens if you lie."
"No!", Aragorn struggled to get free and received a kick in the stomach. The air being driven out of him, he doubled over as far as possible. He gasped, trying not to heed the pain. When he finally was able to draw breath and open his eyes again, he found that the Orc had not cut off Legolas´ ear but was staring at him with a mixture of expectancy and menace.
"That went well", he said smugly, causing the other Orcs to snicker again. "I might not have to continue as of yet. Just as long as you remember this."
He got up and faced Aragorn once again: "Who are you?", he repeated in a low, threatening voice.
"I go by the name of Strider", Aragorn answered reluctantly, his voice flat.
"Strider... that does not sound familiar", the Orc said. "And how does a fellow like you know an elven princeling?"
"I am a Ranger and have been traveling in the forest of Mirkwood", Aragorn said.
The Orc growled: "You are lying! No one travels in the forest of Mirkwood", he spat.
"I am not lying", Aragorn said, barely able to keep calm, "and obviously you have never heard about Rangers, otherwise you would not have accused me of that."
"I see. And what makes these so-called Rangers so special?"
Aragorn looked him straight in the eyes: "They can avoid to be seen if they wish", he said, not wanting to elaborate any further. "That is why I have been able to follow you for two days."
The Orc frowned: "But now I have you nevertheless", he finally said, "and since you seem to consider yourself so clever, you would do well to tell me all about King Thranduil, his dwellings and how they are protected."
Aragorn´s thoughts raced; he knew that something strange was going on in Mirkwood, something to do with the shadow which the Wood Elves were highly worried about, and he would not help these creatures to make it worse. So he had to invent something that sounded credible; as far as he could tell, they were not headed in Mirkwood´s direction and might not find out that he had lied too soon, which would buy him and Legolas precious time, even if they would not manage to escape.
So he started to talk about the king´s home and guards visibly reluctant, hesitating several times and allowing the Orc to prod him to go on, even though this meant to receive some vicious blows, randomly placed. Inwardly, he asked the Thranduil and Legolas for forgiveness, even though he tried not to give anything away.
When he finally fell silent and no more questions were asked, he prayed that they believed him.
"For your own sake I hope you told the truth", the Orc hissed but seemed content for the time being. Aragorn had no reason for relief, however.
"And now", the Orc said, "it is time to teach you some manners." And he landed his fist in Aragorn´s stomach. "I would kill you", he added, while Aragorn struggled to straighten up again, "but in case the elf dies, you might come in handy as a replacement. If you do not die as well, that is."
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TBC