Okay, so Shagrat and Nia are in love, and the "e" key on my keyboard fails. Oh, and I hate bushes. But what are the consequences/effects of their newfound love? Well, you'll have to stick with this story to find out, 'cause I don't give spoilers.
Disclaimer: I only own Isthey, Nia, and anyone else who is obviously not canon. Everything else is Tolkien's. I'm just writing the fic with it. Thanks, John.
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- 6. Revenge and Return -
The Mouth had been searching for days, and still it had found nothing alive. It was growing impatient with not finding anything. It was also hungry. Not just for food, but for a victim. It hadn't tortured or killed anything since the collapse of Barad-dûr.
"You'll be the first, Dungrat." it growled as it entered a lush forest, "And I'll make it especially painful, just for you." A malicious grin crossed its face as it began concocting different schemes of torture in its ruthless mind, each more horrid than the last. It laughed to itself as it thought. It could already hear Shagrat's screams.
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Sauron wasn't sure how many days had passed since the tower fell. Nor was he sure of where he should begin searching for the Mouth. He knew better than to think it had died. If he, in his non-enchanted mortal body, was alive, so was the Mouth in its augmented form. Sauron shook his head. What had possesed him to bring such an awful creature into existence was still a mystery to him. He would have been completely mad to do something like that by his own choice.
His growling stomach brought him out of his thoughts and reminded him that there were certain responsibilities that came with a body. He went back to the place where he had first crawled from the rubble. He wasn't really expecting to find anything, so he was mildly surprised when he saw a silver handle sticking out of the mess. With both hands, he gave it several hard tugs before it came free. He fell backwards and ended up sitting in the dirt with his mace in his lap. At the moment, he looked more like a banished peasant farmer than the mighty lord he was. He stood up and went back to the rubble and started digging through it. A smile spread on his face when he saw the curving black wood and silver markings. The leather around the many shafts of black wood with silver feathers. Carefully, he eased his bow and quiver out of the debris.
"Because a mace won't get me a meal." he said aloud. Sauron stood and looked around him, realizing he wouldn't find anything here that would feed him. He would have to leave Mordor.
He looked to the eastern sky and loosed a shrill call. It took several tries before he heard wings beating. Then, she landed in front of him.
"Meyrán." he said. The huge black dragon looked over and stayed still for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Sauron? she questioned. Is it truly you?
"Aye." he answered, "At last, I have returned to you, as I promised to always do." He walked over and leapt gracefully onto her back.
"Now, Meyrán, we shall hunt together again as we always did before."
With a loud roar, she spread her wings and leapt into the air. She circled the ruins once, then veered off to the west.
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Shagrat awoke the next morning to Isthey shaking him gently.
"Shagrat. Time to get up." he said softly, "I've got breakfast on. Couple of squirrels I caught this morning." Shagrat could smell the smoke from the cookfire and also the aroma of the cooking meat. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Nia showed you Khálané Maraghûn, didn't she."
Shagrat nodded as the memories of that place and what had happened there last night returned to him. He remembered the feeling that he hadn't known the name for and decided that maybe Isthey would know.
"Can I ask you something, Isthey?"
"Go ahead. Ask away." Isthey turned from where he'd been checking the meat to face him.
"Do you know what it's called when you...when you...feel sort of...drawn to another? To a...woman?"
Isthey laughed, "That's called love. Just like what you and I have, but better. You see, when you meet the woman you love, you feel like you can't live without her. You'd do anything for her, just to make her happy. You'd die for her if you had to. She's the one you want to spend forever with. And once you find her, you'll never love another woman. Ever." He paused a moment, "Say, what makes you ask anyway, Shagrat?"
"Just...Just curious. I'm, uh, I'm gonna go flying for a bit." Shagrat answered quickly as he ran outside and called Nyra.
Did you enjoy last night? she asked innocently. I see you chose someone.
How did you know? Shagrat exclaimed. Nyra snorted.
I do have eyes, you know. Very good eyes.
Hmph. Well, don't go spreading rumors to the other Seylán about it. Neither me nor Nia has decided to tell anyone yet.
Just because I bore witness does not mean I will disrespect your privacy and your feelings, Shagrat.
How stupid of me. Of course you wouldn't. He felt a wave of affection wash over him, and he returned it gratefully. He closed his eyes and let the wind of their flight ruffle his hair. Nyra flew low and slow over the tops of the trees, often scaring birds off their perches in the leaves. Only in the mornings did the two of them get to fly together on their own, when it was just them and the sky. Animals below looked up when Nyra's shadow passed over them. The wind from her great wings rustled the leaves in the topmost branches of the trees.
I could do this forever. Shagrat told her. He was sure she would have smiled if she could.
So would I, little one. So would I.
So focused on their flight were they that neither of them noticed the danger that lurked below.
Suddenly, a jolt of excruciating pain shot through Shagrat's body and he screamed loudly as his body convulsed from the extreme pain.
Little one! Shagrat! Nyra's worried voice in his mind sounded distant and far away. His vision blurred and he felt his grip on her spike loosening. Then it seemed he was floating for a few seconds before he hit the tops of the trees. The limbs clawed at his skin and shredded his tunic. Then he was floating again. Then something slammed hard into his side. He lay there, winded, gasping for air as he was suddenly assailed by a new, stronger wave of pain. Through his blurry, watery eyes he saw a dark figure approach. Even through his pain, he recognized the feeling of fear the creature radiated.
No. It couldn't be...
"Mouth?" Shagrat gasped.
"I'm glad to see you recognize your executioner, Captain." it spat mockingly. "Now to finish the job I started before." It produced another whip, with longer and sharper barbs. With a touch of its finger and something muttered under its breath, it lit the lash on fire. Shagrat shut his eyes in dread.
Nia, he thought, Oh, Nia. I should have done more, said more. I love you, Nia. I'll miss you. Shagrat's eyes filled with tears as his heart joined his body in pain.
"Oh, is wittle Scumrat crying? Does he want his mommy?" the Mouth taunted as it beat him with its new lash.
"Stop it!" Shagrat cried as his face contorted in pain. "Stop! Please stop! Please! AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The Mouth laughed wildly as it beat him with the flaming lash and his screams tore through the woods.
"Cry all you want. There's no one to hear you. No Sauron to save you now." Shagrat felt a new stab of pain in his heart at those last words.
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Both Sauron and Meyrán tensed at the shrill sound. Both of them had heard it before. It was the sound of pain, of torture. Sauron even recognized the voice of an orc. He shielded his eyes with his hand as he searched the forest below for some hint of what was happening.
There! Meyrán cried, and he saw the image in his mind of what was unmistakably a fell beast circling low over the trees. The dragon banked left and flew toward it. As they neared, Sauron could see a clearing below the circling beast. And in the clearing...
Meyrán, get me down there NOW! She sensed his urgency and pointed her snout toward the clearing. Her wings folded in and she shot like an arrow downwards. Sauron lifted his mace high over his head, and when the dragon reached the lowest point of her swoop, the Dark Lord jumped.
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Shagrat lay on the ground, the strokes from the lash burning his flesh, the blood from his wounds steaming. Suddenly, in his blurry vision, it seemed the dark blur of the Mouth was knocked away by another, larger blur that glittered in the light. Then there were two thin columns on either side of him. There were distant sounds, voices he thought. But they didn't matter. They grew more distant as his vision went dark and he slippped into oblivion.
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The Mouth never saw its attacker coming. Only when the great mace caught it in its side and sent it flying across the clearing did it realize someone had heard the orc's cries. It looked up to see what fool had dared interrupt its entertainment. What it saw left it dumbfounded.
He was twelve feet tall, and everything about him had an aura of power. Silver, spiked armor detailed with intaglio patterns covered his entire body. His great helm had a crown of six tall spines. A long black cape flowed down his back. A huge mace that matched his armor was in hs hand. A golden ring glittered on his right index finger.
This was everything the Mouth had ever feared. This was its worst nightmare come true. For the Mouth, this was Death incarnate.
"YOU!" the Mouth hissed, "You're supposed to be dead! They destroyed the Ring! You fell! You-"
"STOW IT, TRAITOR!" Sauron roared, and even the Mouth could feel the heat of his rage. And, for the first time in its long life, the Mouth felt true fear.
"T-traitor, my lord?" it stuttered, "I am no traitor. I've only ever served you, my lord."
"Turned all potential allies against me, you mean. And then you take my throne when you had no right to do so? And you lay blame for everything you've done on ME? Ha. Some loyal servant YOU are." The Mouth twitched and Sauron tensed more into his fighting stance, keeping Shagrat safely beneath him.
"So...are you going to come out from beneath your veil of deceit and admit to your treason? Or will I be finishing this?"
Instead of answering, the Mouth dashed for the trees. Fast as lightning, Sauron leapt in front of it, his twelve-foot-tall form blocking its path. His mace collided with the creature's legs, knocking them out from under it. It shrieked and fell onto its back. Sauron set his foot down on its chest and held it down.
"You know you cannot defeat me." he warned. The Mouth nodded, and Sauron continued, "I could do to you what you have done to an innocent victim. But I am not as low and foul as you, you loathsome scum. Now GET UP!"
Shakily, the Mouth stood. But before it could ask what he wanted of it next, Sauron's mace flashed through the air and struck the Mouth on its temple. It crumpled into a heap, dead before it hit the ground. Sauron laid his mace down and knelt by Shagrat, gently lifting the orc into his arms.
"Oh Shagrat. My poor little Shagrat." Sauron carefully took off his cape and wrapped it around the orc. He looked up when he heard his dragon and the fell beast land.
"Meyrán." He said, and she could hear the anguish and worry in his voice. She nodded to the fell beast.
That is Nyra. She knows a place where he can be helped. Sauron, still holding Shagrat in his arms, mounted his dragon and they followed.
Hold on, Shagrat. he thought frantically, I'll save you. Just hold on. For me. For Sauron.
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Oh, no, is Shagrat going to be alright? Well, I'll tell you. He's going to spoiler. (What, did you think I'd ACTUALLY TELL? Puh-leez)
Ha. I bet no one (except maybe Gorthaur) expected an emotional Sauron. But this is AU, so I can do what I want with him.
And yeah, I know Sauron had the Ring on his finger. That will be explained later in the story.
So tell me, who enjoyed seeing the Mouth get its butt kicked to the Moon and back?