Story Summary:
Set before, during, and after the War of the Ring.
During the War of the Ring, Legolas has left his wife Vanelossë and
their children in Mirkwood in the care of his father, King Thranduil.
When Mirkwood and Lothlorien are attacked, she is taken along with
other ellith from the two elven realms. Legolas must band together with
both elves and men to find them. Will he be able to save her and bring
her home to their children?
Warning - Deviation from the book and movies.
PLEASE NOTE - A COUPLE OF CHAPTERS (Chapter 3 and 5) HAVE STRONG
VIOLENCE/RAPE IN IT. IT IS PERTINENT TO THE STORY OR I WOULD NOT HAVE
IT IN THE STORY AT ALL.
Rated - NC17
**2005 Mithril Quarter Finalist for Het Romance and New Author**
**2005 Mithril Semi-Finalist for Drama**
Chapter 5
The Final Blows
Larin had left Vanelossë alone, forgetting to put a guard on the elves.
The encampment that the Easterlings had made that night had one large
opening among the trees, as well as several smaller clearings. The
elves had all been put in one of the smaller clearings within the trees
but they could still be seen from the campfire . Some of the elleth had
been taken by Larin’s men into other areas of the encampment; leaving
only Orophin, Arnarmo, and five ellith , in the clearing with
Vanelosse. She crawled quietly over toward the others and whispered to
Orophin that he and Arnarmo should to try and escape with the five
ellith while they had a chance. Vanelossë told them that she would stay
behind. She was afraid that if she did not, they would kill the other
women that remained in the camp, including Calime.
Orophin flatly refused to leave her behind. She begged him to go with
the others, but he would not. He did agree that they should try to get
the other women to safety, but he would stay with her. Not willing to
delay, she agreed.
Vanelossë untied Arnarmo quickly. Arnarmo took the five ellith sitting
with them, and they snuck off into the dusk of the evening. They were
so silent, Vanelossë was sure that they would escape without notice if
given enough time. Orophin looked at her and whispered that they would
bring help. She moved away from him and lay down. Both she and Orophin
lay down in the clearing and pretended to sleep, but inside she was
panicking knowing she could be killed for this. It was worth it to save
the other six people, she thought, but she was afraid.
Vanelossë cried silently as she thought of Legolas and her children.
She feared that Legolas was already dead, as she had no idea what had
happened since Mirkwood was attacked . She prayed that her children
were safe. She knew as long as King Thranduil had breath left in him;
he would defend her children to the death.
The Easterlings realized that the elves had escaped when a man
returning with one of the Elleth who had fled, alerted those who were
sitting by the campfire. Among those who sat by the fire was Larin.
Orophin and Vanelossë, pretending that they had been awakened by all
the commotion, looked around in surprise. Larin came over to where she
was sitting and roughly pulled her to her feet.
“Where are they?” Larin demanded
“I do not know. I was sleeping. I assume they have been taken by your men,” Vanelossë said, trying not to show her nervousness.
“You are lying to me, elf whore,” Larin said, striking her hard in the face.
When she cried out, he grinned evilly. Pulling her as close to him as possible, he glared at her,
“Did that hurt? You will pray for death before I am done with you.”
Larin ordered some of his men to start looking for the elves. Glaring
at Orophin, he ordered his men to begin lashing him. Orophin struggled
as two men dragged him up by his arms. He saw Larin from the corner of
his eye, pulling on Vanelossë, and struggled even harder, trying
desperately to get to her.
“Do not touch her. She had nothing to do with this. Do with me what you wish but do not touch her,” Orophin called after Larin.
Larin turned to look at Orophin with contempt, then dragged Vanelossë back to where the elf was standing.
“You lay with her one time and you are willing to be beat for her? Did
you enjoy her that much?” Larin said watching Orophin closely.
“This has nothing to do with this, she is a woman, at least have the
decency to beat a man rather than a helpless elleth. Are you not man
enough to take on someone of your own strength? Have the decency to
take your anger out on me rather than her,” Orophin glared at Larin.
Larin laughed again then backhanded Orophin. Grabbing the elf’s hair, he jerked his head back as Orophin glared at him.
Looking over at the Easterling beside Orophin, Larin said, “Only give
him ten lashes, we will save the rest of his for his new lover.”
Orophin began struggling again, trying to get his hands on Larin who simply scoffed at his vain efforts.
“You are a fool, elf. You have shown me your weakness. I know it will
hurt you more to see her beaten than if I beat you myself. I am sure
Vanelossë appreciates your valiant effort to protect her now, however,
I do not think her gratitude will last for long.”
Grabbing Vanelossë by the face, Larin forced her to look at Orophin.
“Look at her beautiful face now, for I fear it will not be as beautiful
when you see her next.”
“You pig! I will kill you when I am free!” Orophin screamed as Larin dragged Vanelossë away.
Vanelossë was terrified. She could hear Orophin scream, as Larin
watched her with a serious look on his face. Larin walked towards the
campfire and slammed her back against a tree. Getting close to her, he
began to stroke her face lightly as he looked into her eyes. She was
shocked and confused when he kissed her.
Pulling away, he whispered, “You are such a beautiful woman, Vanelossë.
I have enjoyed our time together. You feel so good and I loved having
you beneath me every night. I cannot remember ever seeing a more
beautiful woman than you.”
Larin kissed her again. Vanelossë began to relax slightly, thinking
that she had just avoided a harsh punishment, or maybe even death.
Pulling away from her, he smiled, looking at her for some time. She
cast her eyes down, unable or unwilling to look back at him. She did
not expect the blow that struck the side of her head, causing her to
cry out in pain. He hit her again, this time in the face, and she felt
as if she would black out.
“It is such a shame to have to destroy such a beauty, but you brought
this on yourself. Of course, your friend has made it much worse for
you, so remember to thank him. Perhaps you could, once again, spread
your legs for him. I am sure he will welcome you once I have finished
destroying your lovely face. We both know how you enjoyed each other
last time.”
Larin then pulled a large knife from a sheath at his side and Vanelossë
gasped. He began cutting her arms with quick little slashes as he
watched her flinch, enjoying her pain.
“Do you think your prince will want you after I have had you, and after
you have welcomed Orophin into you? Do you think that he will want a
whore for a wife? I should save him the humiliation and kill you now.
Perhaps that is what you want. Maybe your prince is not keeping you
happy anymore and now you realize you like a little pain. Does the pain
arouse you Vanelossë? Is that why you volunteer yourself for this
abuse?” Larin asked, amused at her suffering.
When Vanelossë closed her eyes and refused to answer him, Larin smiled,
taking the point of the knife and pushing it hard into her arm. Her
eyes flew open and he could see the pain in them. She bit her lip,
fighting back tears as she felt the blood pouring from her. Once again,
she closed her eyes, not wanting to see what he planned to do to her
next. After all, there was nothing she could do to avoid it.
Pulling the knife away, Larin switched hands so he could hold Vanelossë
while cutting her other arm. As he began to dig the knife into her
flesh yet again, he kissed her hard. She tried desperately to pull
away, but he would not loosen his grip on her.
“Do you like the pain, whore? Do you like it each night when I force
myself into you? You probably enjoy it more than you enjoy your Prince
crawling on you each night. You probably need more man than he is,”
Larin whispered in a hissing breath against Vanelossë’s ear.
Once again, Larin began digging into Vanelossë’s arm with the blade.
Unable to stop herself, she let out a pitiful whimpering cry. As soon
as he pulled the knife away from her arm, she began struggling. He
grabbed her around the throat and squeezed until she stopped gasping
for breath.
Looking her deep in the eyes, Larin said, “You are going to wish for
death before the night is over, I have been nice to you all of this
time and look how you repay me.”
Twisting her injured arm behind her back, he brought her to where the
men had whipped Orophin. Orophin was sitting in the dirt with his tunic
off and she could see the blood running down his back. Larin walked
over to him and told him to stand up. Then, looking over at Vanelossë,
he told Orophin to undress her. When Orophin hesitated, Larin reminded
him he could kill her just as easily. Orophin began to walk toward her
but as he passed Larin, he made a grab for him instead. Larin pushed
him away as the other three men restrained him. Bringing the blade back
to her neck and cutting a shallow line across her throat, enough to
show blood, Larin reminded Orophin what he would do to Vanelossë if he
did not obey.
Orophin was tormented. He knew what Larin had already done to
Vanelossë, and he could bear it no longer. He truly feared that Larin
would kill her if Orophin did not do as he ordered. When Orophin saw
him begin to casually put more cuts into Vanelossë’s wounded arm, he
undressed her without further orders.
Orophin looked at Vanelossë, defeat haunting his eyes as he removed her
clothing. He whispered an apology to her, telling her that he feared
Larin might actually kill her if he did not do what he ordered. As
Orophin slowly removed her dress, Vanelossë did not look at him. She
knew that what they were making him do to her was killing Orophin; it
was killing both of them.
When Orophin had finished undressing Vanelossë, Larin grabbed her and
threw her to her hands and knees. He instructed his men to tie Orophin
up nearby so he could watch. Feeling blood running down her arm,
Vanelossë looked down and saw how badly she had been cut. When the whip
first cracked across her back, burning into her flesh, she screamed and
fell forward onto her stomach.
Looking back she saw Larin, holding the whip this time, rather than one
of his men. He was taking sadistic joy in her pain filled eyes. He
whipped her repeatedly on her back until she could no longer think of
anything but white-hot sheets of pain searing her brain. She had tears
running down her face but she did not feel them. When her back was
covered in blood, he started whipping her buttocks and the backs of her
legs.
During the entire ordeal, Orophin screamed, begging them to leave her
alone as he struggled against his bonds. It took three more men to
restrain him as Larin struck him in the face with a quick crack of the
whip in an attempt to keep him quiet. Orophin continued to struggle,
cursing and screaming at his captors.
Vanelossë felt as if every square inch of her was cut open and bleeding, Larin looked toward her as she moaned.
“Roll over,” Larin said standing over her.
When Vanelossë did not do as he ordered, he repeated himself rubbing
his boot into her shoulder. She tried, but was unable to move because
of the pain. Bending over her, he slapped her hard on her back.
“I told you to roll over. Do it or I will kill the other hostages,” Larin ordered.
Whimpering, Vanelossë rolled over as far as she could. Larin pushed her
the rest of the way onto her back. She moaned in protest, almost
blacking out from the pain. Thinking he meant to violate her, she began
to cry. Her face registered shock and misery as she felt the first lash
on the inside of her thigh. Larin whipped her several times on each leg.
Throwing the whip aside, Larin stood over her and smiled. As she
watched in pain, he unfastened his pants and crawled between her thighs
legs. Grabbing her bleeding legs, he pushed them far apart and, in one
quick, painful stroke, entered her fully. As he was violating her, she
could feel that her mind was at its breaking point. She thought she
would go mad and she welcomed it, anything to free her of the horror
and pain she was suffering. She tried to block out what was happening
to her, but the nightmare continued. Tears were streaming down her face
as she closed her eyes.
When he finished with Vanelossë, Larin stood up making sure to grab her
cut legs as leverage to stand. He walked a few feet away and picked up
her dress, throwing it at her. He watched her painful attempts to stand
several times. When he walked toward her to grab her again, she used
every bit of her strength to get up so he would not hurt her again. She
could hear Orophin still cursing the men. Lain looked over at him
several times, seemingly quite amused.
After several minutes, Vanelossë was able to pull the dress over her
head as Larin watched with a sadistic smile, enjoying the pain in her
face. Darkness attempted to close in around her many times but she
continued to fight it, afraid of what more he would do to her if she
were unconscious. Walking over, he grabbed her arm and twisted it,
confirming her fears as he whispered to her that if she fainted, he
would let all of his men have a turn with her.
Once again, he pushed her to the ground with the other women. They
brought Orophin back to the group shortly after. He crawled over to her
and began talking to her in an effort to keep her awake. Unable to
maintain a mask of bravery, she lowered her head as she tried not to
move. Calime was trying to stop the bleeding as her dress quickly
became soaked with it. She and Orophin shared looks of concern at the
amount of blood. The man guarding them ordered Calime to stop.
“Let the whore bleed. She deserved it all,” he laughed.
The next thing the elves knew he gasped and fell onto the ground,
having been shot with two arrows. Vanelossë recognized them as Elven
arrows and silently prayed that there were enough of them to save the
captives.
The Easterlings had split up to search for the escaped elves, so there
were fewer of them left to guard the camp than usual. She was relieved
to see Elrohir and Tauro running toward her, and she began to cry in
huge sobs. Elrohir grabbed her as she screamed in agony. Seeing her
blood soaked dress and her bloody arm, he realized he could not get her
away without doing more damage to her. Tauro moved the other ellith out
of harm’s way and untied Orophin. Orophin explained quickly to Elrohir
that she had been whipped and cut severely.
“Which of these animals did this to her?” Elrohir screamed at him.
Orophin indicated Larin as the elves and rangers surrounded him and his
men. Elrohir ordered Elladan not to kill them, telling his brother to
tie them up and put guards on them. Elrohir was going to let Legolas
deal with them personally. Turning back to her, he asked her if she
could walk as he began to examine her injuries.
Shaking her head, she whispered, “Is Legolas alive?”
Elrohir nodded and she started to cry.
“There were more who escaped earlier. Did they make it away?” Vanelossë whispered through her tears.
“Yes, we were close by and they led us to you,” Elrohir responded,
trying to assess how badly she was hurt and growing more upset every
second.
“The other Easterlings went after them,” Vanelossë continued to whisper painfully.
“Yes, we came across them. We left none alive. Vanelossë, it’s over
now. Legolas is on his way with Estel. You are going home to your
children, who are all fine and well.” He stroked her hair
affectionately. “You are a mess. I do not think I have ever seen you
look anything less than stunning. But these bruises will heal and soon,
you will be breathtaking again.”
Even though he smiled at her, the paleness of her face and the amount
of blood flowing from her many visible wounds terrified him.
Elladan ran over to them. Not realizing how badly she was hurt, he
grabbed her in a tight embrace. The pain overwhelmed her and she
finally gave into the blackness as he cradled her in his arms.
~~**~~
Legolas and Aragorn were riding in front of their group when three rangers came riding up swiftly.
“Lord Aragorn, we have found them,” the ranger said as they approached.
“A few of the elves have escaped. They were leading the group I was
with back to the other ellith.”
Legolas sat up and said, “Was my wife with them?”
“I do not know. I came to find your group as soon as I learned where we were going. This elf was with them.”
Legolas looked at Arnarmo. Arnarmo shook his head, visibly shaken from the ordeal.
“No, she and Orophin would not leave because some of the women were
unable to escape with us. She was afraid that the Easterlings would
kill them if we all escaped. She was alive when we left her,” the ellon
told Legolas.
Realizing that the Easterlings might have killed her when they
discovered the others had escaped, Legolas ordered the elves who had
left the encampment to lead him to where his wife was being held.
Following the rangers through the woods, they came to a clearing. There
were rangers and elves swarming the Easterling’s hiding place. Some
were guarding prisoners they had captured when they had taken the
encampment. They had them tied up and sitting in a group away from the
large open clearing with the campfire. Not stopping to find out what
was going on, Legolas jumped off his horse as Elrohir and Tauro ran up
to them.
“Where is she?” Legolas demanded.
“The other women are with the rangers and Elladan is with Vanelossë.
They are trying to tend to their injuries,” Elrohir answered quickly.
Seeing the injured elves in a group, Legolas started to run toward them when Elrohir grabbed his arm.
When Legolas looked at him, Elrohir said gravely, “Legolas, she is alive but she has been hurt badly.”