This is a chapter from Candaith's POV taking place while Chapter 10 was happening. I wanted to get inside his head and show what he was going through during this harrowing time in the story. Hope you find it enjoyable and informative, if not a little heavy.

Candaith's POV

"Fair enough," Gwin replied, standing up. "I will go scout the immediate area. You two can make yourselves useful by setting up the tents." Gwin turned and left before I could object. I had hoped to be the one to look around and scout, but I had to admit she likely had the better eyesight for this in the beginnings of twilight. Despite this, I sighed lightly and helped Saeradan start a fire.

Saeradan volunteered to keep watch, so I took out my pipe and lit it, leaning back slightly onto my pack. Our journey had been somewhat eventful so far, but as of yet, nothing untoward had happened to our little group. However, I had a strange sense of foreboding.

I tried to relax, gazing up at the beginnings of the stars that were starting to twinkle above. I smiled as I thought about how much Gwin loved the stars; even in Breetown she chose to sleep by the window just because she could see them outside. I had asked her once to show me some of the constellations, and found I recognized a few. However, she knew many more, including some of the stories surrounding them. We had been lying very close to one another, and I remembered the faint smell of lavender she had due to the soap she used. It had made my heart beat a little faster, but I don't think she noticed.

Before I could consider this further, Saeradan made his way over to me and said, "Gwinthilnel has been gone for quite some time. Does she usually scout for many hours?"

I frowned, noting that it had indeed darkened considerably. "She likes to be thorough, but it makes me wonder if she came across something she felt she needed to deal with." The foreboding feeling returned. "Perhaps we should investigate?"

"It is dark and it will be hard to see; I will take this torch and have a look about-"

"-I will come with you," I interrupted. "Two sets of eyes and ears are better than one."

Saeradan nodded slowly, "We will have to put out the fire and hide the horses and our belongings. Normally I would suggest splitting up, but if we come across trouble, it would be better to fight together."

Agreed, we quickly readied ourselves and headed out. As we searched, I was alarmed to see the number of foes about. Although they were not as numerous as they once were, the Eglain had not done well keeping them under control, as they had promised. It was foolish of me not to investigate this sooner. We had to be careful with our movements, and not engage unless forced.

After several hours of little luck due to heavily guarded orc camps and roaming wargs, we took a break and hid ourselves to confer. "I cannot believe we found no sign!" I growled, frustrated.

"Perhaps she returned to camp in our absence?" Saeradan asked.

"I suppose it is possible. We are somewhat far from camp, but-" I stopped speaking as I heard screaming that was abruptly cut off.

Saeradan and I looked at each other before he said, "This way." We headed south, where we believed it had come from, but it was so short that it could have echoed from another place. My heart was pounding with dread and fear; whoever was screaming was terrified, and I prayed it was not Gwin.

It was still dark but I knew the sunrise was not far off, and the sky had begun to lighten. "If orcs have taken this…person, they will likely move and find shelter out of the sun soon. We must find them before they leave," I said quickly, and Saeradan put a hand on my shoulder as I went to take off running.

"We must tread carefully or risk running into something we cannot get out of."

"It could be Gwin out there!" I burst out angrily.

"Yes Candaith, I know," Saeradan replied grimly. "But if we get ourselves captured, we will be no help to her."

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm my racing heart. "Ok, let us keep going, and I promise not to run off."

Nodding, Saeradan led the way. An agonizing 20 minutes later, we could hear the crude laughter of what were clearly orcs. They were saying something but I could not clearly make out their guttural tones from our distance. Once we were closer to the group, we climbed up the ridge overlooking their camp…

…to see a sight so horrifying that I knew would be forever seared in my memory. I gasped and felt like I couldn't breathe, and I could sense Saeradan shaking with anger next to me. "Gwin," I choked. "Saeradan, it's her!"

"It is indeed," he ground out, teeth clenched.

It took everything in my power not to jump off the ridge into the group and slay them all; Saeradan put a firm hand on my shoulder again in anticipation of such an action. She was tied to a tree with a rag shoved into her mouth, and I could see tears on her cheeks. A large orc, or perhaps a uruk, was in front of her, with his filthy hands roaming her bruised skin. Her clothes…they had been systematically torn off and were ripped to shreds, lying on the ground at her feet. There was so much blood staining the ground, and claw marks were all over her body. With each action the uruk took, I felt like my heart was being torn into pieces with it.

"S-Saeradan," I said, my voice sounding faint to my ears, "We…we must go to her."

After a beat of tense silence, Saeradan replied, "Yes, let us make a plan."

"Quickly!" I said anxiously. Things were further deteriorating and I was terrified the vile creature would kill her before our eyes. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she was weakly trying to turn away but the bindings were too tight.

We decided to come around the other side of the ridge and hide behind some large boulders that were near the tree. There were only about 7 orcs and the uruk, which was a small enough group for the two of us to handle.

Saeradan took a shaky breath and murmured, "Let us kill these two guards first, careful now." We snuck up behind them and slit their throats, silently lowering them to the ground. This allowed us to get close to Gwin and the tree. "Candaith, I will come up behind her and assault the uruk quickly-"

"I will do it," I interrupted. Saeradan gave me a worried look, "Please my friend, let me do this." I saw something in his eyes change, almost as if he had realized something, but he did not comment. "Continue explaining the plan."

"Once you kill the uruk, start fighting the other orcs. They will likely be surprised and not react at once, giving you some time to kill one or two before the rest attack. I will undo her bindings and throw my cloak about her, helping her up into the tree where she will be safe. Then I will join you in the fight," Saeradan summarized quickly.

I froze as I heard Gwin humming something softly and brokenly, and I realized it was the melody she had heard me singing at the Prancing Pony, only a few days ago. The pain I felt at hearing this desperate attempt to comfort herself was agonizing, and I felt angry tears threaten to fall.

But I had no time for that.

"Music won't save you now," the uruk said maliciously, a cruel smirk on his face.

From directly behind the tree, I replied softly, "No, but I will."

I felt a red haze of rage overcome me and in the next moment, the head of the torturer was on the ground. As expected, the orcs did not expect such an action, and two of them had been run through with my sword before they could even move. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Saeradan untying Gwin and I turned back to the battle, trusting him to get her to safety.

Once Saeradan joined the fight, it was over quickly. I stuck my sword through the heart of the uruk, despite knowing he was dead; it brought me a grim sort of satisfaction. "I will dispose of and burn this filth," I said, disgusted. "Please make sure she is safe."

"Of course Candaith, she will not leave my sight."

I completed the vile job quickly, racing back to the scene of the fight. Panic filled me as I saw her collapse to the ground, and Saeradan pick her up and run as fast as he could to our camp. I followed close behind, noting there was a thin trail of blood in their wake.

When I arrived, Saeradan had laid her down gently on the ground, and I was shocked at the paleness of her skin. "Is she alive?" I asked, terrified at what the answer might be.

Saeradan shook his head, "She lives, but is very unwell. We must find a way to stop this bleeding; I fear her wounds are already infected." He looked at me closely. "Will you help me?"

I noticed I had frozen in place several steps away from them, and shook myself into action, "What can I do?"

We proceeded to make an athelas salve and apply it to as many wounds as we could, doing our very best to cover her modesty, although it was not always possible. It was hard to keep the rage and shame I felt at bay, but I knew I needed to put all of my focus on Gwin now; my emotions could wait.

Once we had finished, we dressed her in some of her clothes and got on our horses, heading off towards the Forsaken Inn. I held onto her tightly, keeping her close to me, but unfortunately, it was not long before Gwin started shifting around in my arms. Eventually she was moving about so much we had to stop and dismount. She was burning up and thrashing around, clearly in the throes of a nightmare. I took her face into my hands and yelled, "Gwin, wake up!"

She gasped, still in her nightmare, "It is a foul trick! Please, let me go, please!" Her hands shot out and grasped my shirt in a vice grip, as if to shake me.

Saeradan put his hands on her shoulders gently to keep her in place; she was at risk of reinjuring herself. "Gwinthilnel, you are safe. This is not real; it is just a dream."

The next moment her eyes flew open, and she was gasping for air. Her face was flushed with fever. "W-what?" she muttered weakly, clearly confused. Once she noticed she was gripping my shirt, she let go quickly, sending me an apologetic look. Saeradan explained why we had stopped, and Gwin insisted we continue.

I was relieved she was alive and awake, but I felt emotionally raw from what we had seen. I couldn't imagine what Gwin was going through, and I hated that she had to face such things. I rode ahead of the two of them on the premise of making sure our path was safe, but I truly just needed some space.

After we arrived at the Inn and Techeryn shooed Saeradan and I out, I sat down heavily in a chair near the door, my head in my hands. "We failed her Saeradan. How could we let this happen?"

Saeradan sighed, "It is impossible to predict such things. Gwinthilnel is a strong, capable Elleth, and she would not wish for us to doubt her skills in scouting."

"We were careless," I continued, barely hearing what he was saying. "While we were sitting around the fire, she was being…being tortured by her captors." I gripped my hair in my hands and pulled at it angrily. "When I heard that scream, I knew it was her, deep down." I looked up into Saeradan's face, "Then once we saw her…I felt such pain and despair. If we had arrived only a few minutes later…"

"But we didn't," Saeradan said firmly. "We saved her and killed the filth that hurt her."

"What if they…what…what if they…" I tried, but couldn't get the words out.

Saeradan finished for me, "What if they raped her?" he said quietly. I nodded slightly, my eyes filling with tears. "Would that change your opinion of her?"

"Of course not!" I ground out. "Nothing could lower her esteem in my eyes; not even that." I stood up and began pacing. "I just worry for her spirit. They say that Elves can fade away and die from certain traumas. What if this is too much for her?" I stopped suddenly and looked into Saeradan's eyes fearfully, "What if I lose her?"

At this, Saeradan raised his eyebrows. "What if you lose her?" I nodded. "My friend, what do you feel for Gwinthilnel?"

I furrowed my brow, "I am not sure what you mean."

"I thought perhaps you were just friends, but I sense there is more here, at least on your end."

"More?" I replied dumbly. Was he right? Was I starting to feel something more than just friendship? I shrugged helplessly. "I am not sure. Even so, I doubt she feels the same way."

Saeradan looked at me, considering my words, "What makes you say that?"

"She is of Elf-kind, and I am a Man; Gwin would only consider another Elf," I said, but the words made my chest ache.

"I ask again, what makes you say that? You should not assume you know her thoughts on this." The tiniest of smiles appeared on Saeradan's lips. "Perhaps you should ask her."

I held a hand up in protest, "I will do no such thing, especially not now. She is dealing with enough; adding a conversation such as this would only make things worse."

"I see. Well, do not put such things aside forever. Perhaps you would be walking away from something wonderful," Saeradan replied.

After Techeryn was finished, she said I could come in if I'd like. "She is sleeping now, and likely will be for several hours, but I am sure she would appreciate awakening to a familiar face."

I smiled slightly and said, "Saeradan and I are more than grateful for your aid. We were very worried for her after what happened and are truly thankful for how you have saved her."

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

With that, I opened the door and stepped inside. I gazed sadly at her; she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but all of her wounds made me feel terrible. Sitting on a chair next to her, I took her hand. "No matter what comes next, I will protect you…"

"…always."

Thanks for reading; I hope you found this look into Candaith's POV to be interesting. It certainly was more of a challenge than I thought to get into his head, but I think it turned out pretty decent. Leave a review if you'd like!