~ Thranduil must make a hard decision and the same goes for the uruk-hai family. ~
21. To Kill or Not to Kill
"At least don't kill the little ones," Wynne begged, pressing Thranduil's arm.
She had no idea why she felt so strongly about them, she didn't even like children, but somehow the woman's desperation had touched her. She had been willing to sacrifice her own life for the babies.
Then it occurred to Wynne that the father had done the same, in a way. The tall uruk-hai had given himself up, even though he must be fully aware that his own death might be the outcome of it, and he had done it to help his wife and children escape.
That, if any, was proof he couldn't be altogether evil.
"If the orclings are allowed to live they must be closely monitored," said Thranduil. "And if so, we cannot leave them and lose control over the outcome of this experiment."
"You mean to take them with us, then?" Legolas looked surprised. "Surely our mission is no place for babies. And who would tend to them?"
"Nay, and that is why it would be complicated to save their lives," his father said. "Besides, bereaving a mother of her offspring would hardly be less cruel than slaying them."
"What about the uruk-hai?" asked Galion.
"I do not trust him. I could never trust an orc." Thranduil sounded definite.
"I do," said Wynne. "He gave himself up to save his family."
Thranduil shook his head. "Perhaps, but even a warg will protect his young. He will not be as friendly to outsiders. We must either kill him or take him prisoner."
"The woman mentioned other uruk-hai. His friends," Nodir broke in. "Maybe he can lead us to them."
"How would you persuade him to do that? I do not hold with torture."
"If we let him and the orclings live – for now – he might do it in return for sparing them," suggested Legolas. "In addition it would give us time to observe him and decide whether he really has good intentions."
"I like that idea," said Wynne.
"It has some merits," Thranduil cautiously agreed. "One needs more than a first impression to read someone's character."
"Yes, otherwise you would still have thought me useless." Wynne grinned at him and to her surprise he smiled back.
"Indeed, I would." He turned to Nodir and Bronedir. "You fetch the human; she cannot have gotten far."
They rode off, bringing an extra horse for the woman, and Thranduil approached the uruk-hai again.
"You shall live, you and your family, if – and I stress this point – if you obey my commands and prove to me that your ways are not evil."
Wynne noticed Thranduil had not mentioned they might still be killed later, even if they did obey. He certainly was a sly elf.
The half-orc bowed his head in compliance, obviously knowing that he had not many other options.
Thranduil continued: "This is only a precaution as I am sure you understand. Galion, bind him."
The uruk-hai held out his hands, silently allowing the elf to tie them tightly together.
It didn't take many minutes for the brothers to return with the woman, demurely riding in front. The elves carried one wailing orcling each and looked extremely uncomfortable about it.
When she saw her bound husband the woman's shoulders sagged even lower. "Please let me have my babies back," she begged. "I will not run away again. I promise."
Thranduil nodded curtly. "Fair enough. Nodir, Bronedir, if you please?"
The tiny uruk-hai were placed in their mother's waiting arms and soon ceased crying.
"Now that you are both here I shall inform you what your task is. If you accede we shall spare your lives." Again Thranduil omitted that this was still not decided. "You must take us to your friends; the other uruk-hai you mentioned. If they truly have turned to the good side they have nothing to fear from us. Will you do this?"
"You would have us betray our friends." A deep furrow had formed on the uruk-hai's forehead.
"It would not be a betrayal. I only wish to speak with them and I mean them no harm."
"You think we believe that?" the woman said. "We're not stupid. You will use us to find them and then you'll kill us all." She shivered noticeably where she sat, making the horse prance nervously and the babies whimper.
"I cannot promise to spare everybody but I will promise you this: if they prove themselves to be honest, and if you prove your honesty as well, you shall live. Whereas, if you refuse, you most certainly shall not." Thranduil pierced her with his icy stare.
"Using threats to force people to submit." The uruk-hai spat contemptuously on the ground. "Don't bother, Sidra. He's just like Saruman. He'll do anything to get his way."
Thranduil looked outraged at the comparison but only coldly repeated his question from before. "Will you do it?"
The uruk-hai and his wife locked eyes and seemed to come to some sort of silent agreement.
"Alright." The woman's glare at Thranduil was fierce.
Wynne felt sorry for her. She was forced to put her children's and husband's lives in the hands of strangers, and now had to risk her friends' lives too. All for a very slight chance of survival.
It was not hard to understand how she must feel.
As for herself, Wynne felt caught in the middle of something very unpleasant. The uruk-hai was right that Thranduil's ultimatum wasn't really fair. But they must have been aware this might happen, when they decided to marry and have children. The fact that they had been hiding here, in this inaccessible, barren landscape, proved that they had known.
The uruk-hai's dagger was removed from him and Galion searched his clothes for any other hidden weapons.
The woman too must be checked, a task that fell on a very dismal Wynne. "Sorry," she mumbled when she ran her hands over the worn fabric.
Standing that close, she felt her pleasant, spicy scent. She was still trembling, and Wynne's heart went out to her.
Neither the orc nor the woman carried anything more dangerous than a small knife each, obviously for eating and preparing food with, both of which were confiscated.
"Can we fetch our belongings before we go?" She had turned to Wynne with her question, maybe hoping a fellow human would be kinder than the elves.
Thranduil replied in her stead: "We shall gather them for you if you tell us where they are."
"There is a cave behind that bush." She pointed up to the juniper where Wynne had first seen her.
Galion and the brothers went to check it while Thranduil led the rest of them back to the water hole. "We rest before we leave," he declared.
The uruk-hai family was assigned a place to sit by the cliff wall where they could be easily seen in case they tried anything.
The woman and orclings were still not bound; Thranduil obviously figured they were not as much a threat as the uruk-hai.
The little ones soon began to totter about in the purple heather, plucking stones from the ground and showing them to their parents.
Wynne, who still felt bad, sat down next to the couple. "I'm truly sorry things have to be this way."
"You don't have to look so guilty," replied the woman, sounding tired. "I understand why your friends can't easily trust us."
"I will do all I can to make them spare you," Wynne said earnestly.
She was rewarded with a slight smile. "Thank you."
Wynne returned it. "I'm Wynne Örn from Rohan," she introduced herself.
The woman dipped her head. "I am Sidra Tariq from Harad, and this is Nugu." She stroked the uruk-hai's arm.
She then turned her attention to one of the boys who had stumbled and scratched his knee.
While she was busy with her sobbing child, Wynne took the opportunity to observe her with unveiled curiosity. This was the first Haradrim she had ever seen, if she didn't count the paintings and tapestries about the war, but in those the Haradrim warriors had their faces covered.
Sidra had tanned skin and dark brown eyes, much like Nodir and Bronedir. Her hair was black with a mahogany hue and fell in a wavy cascade down her back. She was pretty – beautiful, even.
In the pictures the Haradrim always wore exotic, colorful garments and wielded curved swords, but this woman had an ordinary wool dress, much like Wynne's own. It made her look a lot less foreign than she had expected.
"Isn't Harad where oliphaunts come from?" she asked.
"Indeed. My uncle used to breed them, the mûmakil, as we call them. We use them for everything: working in the forest, carrying stuff, for traveling, for war. They are really helpful when trained well."
"Like our horses then."
"Those horses are from Rohan, aren't they?" She nodded at the grazing animals. "They really are extraordinary. We have horses in Harad too, you know, but bigger and heavier. War horses, more like."
Sidra appeared to have relaxed a bit and seemed to try her best to be friendly. Perhaps she knew she had not much time to make her captors like her.
"Thank you. Yes, they are Rohirrim mearas. What is Harad like?"
"Beautiful." Her voice was filled with longing. "It's a lot warmer and more humid than here. In my part of the country there were grass plains surrounding huge forests full of birds and other animals. I used to live in a bamboo house at the edge of such a forest." She noticed Wynne's confused look and added: "Bamboo is a kind of thick grass."
"Wow. A house made of grass." Wynne thought of the thatched cottage in her daydream.
"But then Saruman snatched your mother to the breeding dens and that was the end of that," the uruk-hai cut in. Again he almost snarled when pronouncing the wizard's name. "And my mother. And everyone else's mother down there."
Wynne stared at him, realization dawning. So that was how Saruman had bred his uruk-hai army.
A/N:
No wonder Nugu says "Saruman" like a swear word...
More hugs to everyone who reads and comments. It's truly appreciated.
Image Credits:
Public domain (Pixnio), source: https://pixnio.com/sv/personer/elefant-manniskor-skog-solljus-resor-trad