Return Of The Shadow

Chapter 3: A Living Nightmare

Pain. All he could feel was pain. It consumed him. Burned him. All he wanted was for it to stop. He begged for it to stop. It only got worse.

He kept his eyes closed. He wouldn't dare open them. He didn't want to see what awaited him.

Wait. Why am I feeling anything?

He shouldn't feel any pain. Not anymore. What was happening?
An image flashed through his head, orcs... Thousands of them.

He'd been fighting, yes... He was down to his last arrow, the orc... It had a spear, it was going to throw it...

It wasn't aimed for him. It was aimed for someone else... Aragorn...

The memory became clearer. He'd loaded his last arrow into the bowstring, he was about to let it fly, the orc threw the spear.... he had shoved Aragorn out of the way...

The spear had hit him. He hadn't felt it. Only shock that he had been hit. He'd dropped his bow and fell, he'd felt his life leaving him.

He saw Aragorn, he'd told him to run, to leave him... He'd taken his last breath...

Legolas' eyes shot opened. He gasped. The pain had become a wildfire inside of him. He panicked and strained against the black chains that held him up by his wrists. His ankles were chained together as well, just a few inches off the ground, he was hanging completely off the floor.

This place, he knew it. He'd been here before, almost a thousand years had past since he'd last been here. It dawned on him at last, he wasn't dead, he was facing a fate worse than death.

No... Oh Illuvatar please... Not this... Not again...

Legolas was being faced with a living nightmare. He was back in the place that had haunted him for so many years. The place that had turned him into a monster.

He couldn't be back here, he just couldn't. There was movement outside of his cell, looking up Legolas saw a man dressed in black carrying a torch. He recognized him at once.

All of his strength left him. Legolas closed his eyes and hung limply in his chains. Before him was the man whose only purpose had been to torment him.

Whenever he wasn't being tortured by Sauron, his servant was charged with spending every moment that should have been Legolas' escape from the Dark Lord, tormenting him and making the elf wish he were dead.

He opened the cell door and closed it behind him.
"I know you're awake Legolas. There's no reason to pretend."

Legolas knew it was pointless to fight him. He learned long ago that his best chance was to be silent and not resist.

The Mouth grinned at him, Legolas had long forgotten that dreadful smile of his. It made him cringe.

"I'm glad to see you again Legolas. I was so lonely after you left."

Legolas drilled him with a cold stare. His hands clenched into fists. Mostly from pain, but also from anger.

"It hurts doesn't it? Don't worry, soon it will all go away."

Legolas watched as he pulled a small dagger from his cloak. He'd seen it before. He knew what was coming. He braced himself.

The Mouth slowly began to push the dagger into his shoulder. Legolas winced. He gritted his teeth and refused to show that he was in pain. Compared to other hurts he had experienced this was nothing, just irritable.

"I've hardened you well Legolas. When you first arrived, any time you were hit or struck you'd scream and cry for mercy."

He started to slowly twist the dagger, continuing to push it in. Blood started to trickle from the wound.

"Now look at you, so hardened against pain."

He ripped the dagger out. Legolas took in a sharp breath. His shoulder was bleeding but it was the least of his problems at the moment.

"I'm afraid I have to go now, but I assure you we'll be seeing each other again."

He grabbed the torch and added, "I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing your old master again."

"Sauron was never my master."
Legolas's glared at the servant of Sauron who grinned.
"I think we both know that's not true."

He left without another word. Once he left Legolas' world plunged into darkness. Not that it bothered him much.

He was already dead.

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Legolas is alive! Alright admit it, who saw it coming? Am I too predictable? Oh! And as of this moment I will probably not be putting pictures in every chapter. I'll try to do as many as I can but... Yeah. So... Have a great day! Or night. Ok I'll stop now.