For Greater Things (An LOTR Fanfiction)

chapter 31

     I was wearing down. I have been here for three days now. Three days of nothing but torture and darkness. I haven't heard anything from Sauron, but he was a constant presence in my mind ever since I was in Isengard. I was also beginning to have thoughts; thoughts that I knew were not quite all my own. The orc had done unspeakable things to me.   All I could think of was burning that orc and every tool he had used on me till they were but piles of ash. Often I caught myself envisioning the ways I would use his own tools against him, and how I would enjoy every scream and plea for mercy he would make.  I was bruised, bloody, and broken. Groaning, I lifted my hand to rub at my tired eyes, only to stop when I saw all the blood and dirt caked on it. I sighed in exhaustion and closed my eyes against the swell of nausea rising in my stomach. There was no hope left in my body. None. I had long stopped hoping that the others were coming to my rescue. I realized that they would have no idea where exactly to look for me. I could be anywhere. In a goblin cave, an orcish camp, or even in the heart of Mordor. They could even think I was died by now. 

The creaking of the door jerked me to attention as the orc stomped into the room closely followed by the Witch King.  I scrambled back as fast as I could into my little cage, away from the door.  Grundolt opened the cage and reached inside, grabbing me by the front of my torn tunic and dragging me out.  He threw me on the floor in front of the wraith, causing pain to explode into my side.  I yelped and groaned as I curled my body in on itself and squeezed my eyes against the blinding pain.  When I opened them, my vision was blurry and fading around the edges.  I sucked in small lungfuls of air and closed my eyes again, willing myself to not pass out.  Who knows what they would do to me while I was out.  

"Is she still fighting?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Then we must persuade her to give in." 

The large orc gave a sickening grin and grabbed me, lifting me up by my arms and shackling me to dangle from the ceiling. My head hung low in defeat and exhaustion.  I knew what was coming. I had the marks on my body to prove it, but all I could do was hang there.  I knew then that no one was coming for me.  No one could penetrate the fortress holding me. 

My servants have done well by bringing you here.

Your strength is weakened.  Soon the darkness will take your mind . It has already begun.

With those words, I felt the first stinging blow from the bull whip on my back.  It tore into my bruised and torn skin, making me cry out in utter agony. My vision turned dark and my skin crawled with a hyper-awareness to everything around me.  Blow after blow was inflicted upon my battered body, and with each blow an agonized scream left my lips.  My body grew hotter and hotter, and my vision had turned completely black. I could hear the orc chuckling in delight at my torture.  Something inside of me became very angry.  I would no longer allow this... thing to control me! Allow it to terrorize me! I was above this creature, and it would know my wrath.

A blinding heat consumed my body and mind, until all I knew was fire.  My entire world had become nothing but darkness filled with a burning rage.  I reached out and gathered some of the heat in my hands, melting the chains from my wrists. By now, I could make out the outline of the room I was in and the orc and wraith in front of me.  However, now the wraith had taken on a ghostly appearance of a dead king. His face was hollowed and wrinkled with decay, and his hair was falling out, hanging limp from his head. His robes and body were grey and nearly transparent.  The orc stumbled back in surprise, dropping the whip in the process.  

"You have tortured me for too long, filth."  With that, I raised my hand, sending a wall of fire around him and trapping him in it's blazing heat.  He shrieked in surprise, turning in circles as he frantically looked for an escape.  "You think you have power over me?" I asked him, as I circled him, flames dancing between my fingers. "You think you will ever amount to anything more than the mud on my boots? You are nothing!"  With that, I sent a roaring inferno at him.  He screamed in pain and fell to the floor, writhing before he finally fell silent.  The stench of burning flesh filled the air, and I felt a sense of satisfaction as I looked at the scorched corpse. I turned to the Witch King who had watched the whole thing silently from the corner of the room.