With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
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~ Wynne finds Legolas a new place to sleep, and he brings a message (demand) from his father.~
37. Puppy Love
On the way back, Wynne tried to reconcile herself with eating insects. She had done it the whole week, after all, and never thought the food tasted strange. And how else could they get enough to eat down here? If they went out to hunt they would risk being discovered – which was exactly what had happened to Nugu and Sidra.
The thought of Nugu made her look appraisingly at the young uruk-hai, who was tagging along to the hall.
"You look a lot like my friend's husband," she said.
"You mean Nugu? He's my brother." Dvago's face darkened. He had looked cheerful before, something Nugu rarely did, and now when he was scowling the likeness was almost uncanny.
"Brother? Really? But how–"
"I'd rather not talk about him," he interrupted and stomped ahead in tall strides.
Goltur had heard the exchange. "The lad is still upset from learning about his mother. How she was kept, what Saruman did to her... Not that he and Nugu knew her; they were taken away directly after birth."
"How cruel. Why?"
"Saruman wanted the women ready to have another child as soon as possible, so he wouldn't allow them to nurse the babies. Nanna brought them up, all the uruk-hai, bottle feeding them goat milk and oatmeal." He made a hesitant pause, but then apparently decided to go on. "Dva-go means twenty in our language, and Nugu means nine. The breeder males usually had naming systems like that to keep track of their offspring. You can figure the rest out for yourself."
She stared at him, abhorred, feeling bile rising in her throat. Twenty! The cold-blooded evil of the wizard was unfathomable. To be forcing women to mate again and again, and to go through so many pregnancies only to have each baby torn away from them. Even the worst horse breeder would never treat a mare so badly.
"I protested against Saruman's plans when he first told me of them, not that it did any good, I was as much a slave to him as anybody there. In punishment for my insolence he removed me from my post as chief healer and made me handle the book keeping. I had to register all the... pairings, and the resulting babies, their development, everything. He liked things neat and organized. And also... the women giving birth... Some were so young and it didn't always go well. I healed them if I could." His voice was heavy with pain and remorse. "When the orclings grew up I tutored them. Taught them to read, battle tactics, such things. Many times I wanted to refuse. Allow Saruman to torture and kill me rather than helping him, but... I knew it was pointless, he would have gone through with it anyway. This way, at least, the uruk-hai met with some kindness. A little bit of father's love."
Wynne only nodded. What would she have done in that situation? If the alternative was torture and death and still no chance to save the women, she probably would have done the same thing.
