The Last Dreamwalker

Lessien's Decision

Lessien stood, the orc still shoved up against the balcony. The lock of golden hair was pinched in between her thumb and index finger. The lock was off-putting. One million scenarios flew through her head. It had been seven minutes, Lessien stuck staring. Not one of the three orcs spoke. Wise of them.

But orcs are only so clever.

"What's taking her so long?" complained Xurruk, barking at Garothmug.

That was their mistake.

Lessien pushed Kharzug over the balcony in a matter of seconds, taking the knife stuck in her leg as she fell. Nimbly, Lessien turned her body and expertly flicked her wrist. Her knife found it's way into Garothmug's neck. There was a choking sound as his airway was blocked by his own blood. For extra measure, Lessien kicked her foot, which landed squarely in Garothmug's torso with such force that the orc was flung off the balcony, too. 

What a waste of a perfectly good throwing dagger, Lessien noted.

Xurruk was quicker than the others. As Lessien attempted to retrieve her sword, Xurruk swung his staff with expertise, its edge impacting with the side of Lessien's head. She felt herself being thrown to the floor with the force. Her sword flung out of her hand and slid across the marble floor, skidding to a halt inches from her reach. 

Disoriented as she was, Lessien made an attempt to get up, though her head pounded. 

She was only a few seconds too slow.

Xurruk growled an animal growl with bared teeth and his heavy boot planted itself on her neck, cutting off her airway. 

She felt her eyes bulging out of her head and, instinctively, her hands went to the boot and began shoving it away. The cutoff of oxygen made her brain desperate. "You do not believe me? You do not believe this is his hair?"

"Please," she wheezed. "Let me save him."

"I don't think so," Xurruk grunted and his boot increased pressure. 

Does he plan to break my neck?

He bent over and grabbed the fabric of her camisol and lifted her up by it. Then, with great force, he crashed her skull into the floor. Again and again and again. 

She began losing consciousness after struggling all she could.

As she was being beat, Lessien moved excruciatingly slowly, her fingers mere inches from her sword, which was practically tottering over the edge. "Nanwen turúna," she whispered in a final attempt to escape. It was a spell she spoke, which roughly translated to the Common Tongue as, "Return to your master."

The weapon slid to her fingers. 

For a split moment, Lessien was caught off guard by her success, and her eyes widened. 

She proceeded to move her blade in a precise movement, at Xurruk's other foot, the one not strangling her. It plunged halfway into the bone and tissue, handle protruding like an ax would from a tree.

Xurruk howled.

He toppled sideways, unable to keep his balance. 

As he fell, Lessien grabbed her sword and stood, her throat feeling crushed.

Though winded, she shoved Xurruk forcefully into the wall with one hand. She crashed his skull into the wall a few times, counting each time in her head, until the orc looked like he was slipping away.

 "Doesn't feel good, does it?" she growled through her gritted teeth. She could feel blood in the back of her throat and it hurt to speak.

"Remember this?" Lessien asked and put the useless arm holding her sword to use. Without a second thought, she dug the sword into the creature's leg. 

It didn't go through its leg though, for the sword had been expertly wielded to inflict the most pain possible. The steel was under his skin the length of his thigh, parallel his thigh bone. 

Miraculously, Xurruk did not lose consciousness.

Instead, he screamed an inhuman scream and seemed ready to pass out.

"Is he alive?" Lessien interrogated, referring to Legolas.

"I'll never-"

Lessien began to work the handle of her weapon like a lever, threatening to have the blade cut its way out of Xurruk's skin. "Tell me," Lessien whispered sinisterly, desperation clinging to her words, for the weight of the situation was put on her shoulders. 

She could have just doomed Legolas to his death.

"He's alive! He's alive!" screeched the animal. "Kill me! Please kill me!" 

"Where is he?" Lessien asked. To her, she could sense the weakness in her tone, the resignation, but to the terrified Xurruk the whispered question frightened him more than anything else she had done. Sweat dripped from her every pour.

"He's-" the orc closed his eyes and visualized. "He's trapped in Barad Dur, under the Great Eye's watch."

"You're lying," Lessien simply stated. When the orc didn't deny anything Lessien yelled, "You're lying to me!" 

Rage overtook her, she extracted her sword from the monster's leg. No sense was left in her mind as she plunged the sword with all of her might into Xurruk's chest. The sword found a way to wedge itself into the stone of the fortress. Lessen buried the weapon to its handle in his heart and looked into the orc's dying eyes. 

The blood splattered out of his wound and stained her front. "Tell me you're lying," she ordered.

"If I did-" Xurruk wheezed. 

Lessien could tell that life was leaving hm. 

"I would be ly-" he continued but sputtered and died.

The blood covered her arms and front by now. The sensation of the ice creeped up her arm and signalled the end of her battle. Instead of screaming in agony from the injuries she had and from the frightening possibility of losing Legolas, from the infection spreading in her veins, she took a deep breath through her nose and tipped her head back. 

A deep breath, a recovery, filled her lungs and exited her mouth as the grey crept up her bicep. The white brand in the palm of her hand began to darken.

And then the pain was gone. Not all of the pain, though. Her head still throbbed and her neck felt crushed. 

"You should see the other guys," Lessien weakly joked to herself aloud as tears slipped from her eyes. A shudder danced across her shoulder blades and she began to shake with a silent sob. 

"Oh, Legolas, what have I done?" she cried hoarsely before collapsing.

On the floor of the balcony, she sobbed tearlessly. Her body shook with the pain.

But there was one last spark of hope.

His Dreamworld was the most familiar to her and the easiest to access. She spoke, "Have I forsaken you, as they say?" 

For a heart-wrenching moment, no reply.

Just a moment.

"My love," Lessien added under her breath.