Anariel of Erudin: Valmoria's Wrath | Lord of the Rings

12. Jailhouse Blues

"Well, at least we're out of the rain," Turin said as he carelessly drew circles across the dirty stone floor with his index finger. His comment received several dry stares from the other prisoners, some of which looked far from friendly. One man, I observed, was missing most of his teeth, and those that remained were black and rotting. I found myself subconsciously trying to suck my own teeth clean as I stared at him from the safety of our cell.

My little empty threat managed to get us all thrown into the town prison, an experience that was completely foreign to me. I suspect Erudin had a dungeon of some sort, but I'd never seen inside it. Given Turin's casual attitude, I could only assume he had. I didn't understand how he could've survived such conditions. Our cell was cold, damp, and dark, the only light source being the torches at either end of the dungeon. A putrid smell hung in the air, a mixture of sweat, dirt, feces, and decaying food, which I'd seen at the entrance. A loaf of moldy, maggoty bread and a spoiled pig carcass sat on the floor, and I just hoped it wasn't our future meal.

"You should have let me fight them," Elrohir grumbled to his brother as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I refuse to spill innocent blood," Elladan answered. "Besides, they were justified in detaining us."

"You're such a pacifist. We don't have time to rot our lives away in a prison cell." He groaned and threw his head back. "And they took all my weapons."

Above all else, I think Elrohir was most upset about that. All his precious weapons were sitting at the dungeon's entrance, currently being fondled by the guards, who were most impressed by the fine elven blades. Elrohir looked like he was about to explode, especially when one guard touched his prized axe. The elf was practically shaking with anger, but his brother's words forced him to exercise restraint. Only when the guards moved on to Legolas's bow did he finally relax. With their dry, cracked, dirty fingers the guards ravaged the beautiful weapon, and although he remained calm, I could tell Legolas was far from pleased. If only Turin could've been so calm when his sword was the one being fawned over. As soon as one of the guards took the blade in his hand, Turin jumped up from the ground and began shouting like a madman.

"If you break that sword, I will bust out of this cell and kill you with my bare hands!" Turin threatened, pressing his body tightly against the cell bars, as if he believed he could somehow slip through. "That blade is worth more than your measly lives!"

The guards all laughed. "Be quiet, boy."

Then a guard with a very tangled brown beard took the sword in his hands and mused, "A sword like this deserves to be wielded by a man, not some peasant brat."

"Peasant brat?" Turin exclaimed, tugging violently at the bars. "I'll make you eat those words, you big, hairy buffoon!"

Elrohir pointed a finger at Turin and complained to his brother, "Why is he allowed to get angry, but I have to bite my tongue?"

"Because someone your age should possess more restraint than a young boy."

But Elrohir's restraint met its limit when one of the guards started toying with his bow. Springing up from the ground, the elf joined Turin and started delivering a few threats of his own as he banged violently against the bars. Together, the two of them directed their anger, which was normally reserved for each other, at the guards and plotted their revenge. Meanwhile, the remaining elves were trying to distract themselves from the childish antics of their comrades. Whistling a little tune to himself, Elladan ignored his brother's attempts to get him to join their cause, while Legolas remained focused on the entrance, where a few of the guards were still playing with his bow.

Laughing together, two of the guards approached our cell, flashing crooked smiles as they taunted the elf and the boy with their precious weapons. One guard even started bashing Elrohir's bow against the stone wall, and he laughed hysterically at the elf's attempts to get him to stop. This was not how honorable soldiers behaved. They were no better than the prisoners they kept.