A Slave with a Snake

A Slave with a Snake
Ch 3: My New Home


“What this is so exciting.” was Sibila’s immediate response to the news that Saruman had given me. She then made and excited loud screeching sound while jumping up and down for several seconds. I forced myself to resist the urge to plug my ears because I know she would be offended.


Most people find it quite odd that we are best friends mostly because we look and act completely different. Sibila is a twenty three year old woman of Haradrium decent, her 5”8 height, black hair and naturally tanned skin clashes to my twenty five year old 5”4 height, blonde hair, green eyes and pale white skin. While she is descended from the Haradrium she was raised in Rohan. Her mother was a priestess and her father a wealthy merchant whom decided to move north. Sibila never really knew her father since he died when she was five. Her mother had remarried to a local Rohirim who became like her father. Sibila’s mother dealt with healing magic but she didn’t inherit her mother’s gift for leech craft. Her mother had noticed her other magical gifts and sent her to Isengard to realize her full potential.


I grew up in a small Gondorian village near the border with my parents and three brothers. At an early age I had shown a skill for all types of magic; often I only used magic in a great fit of emotion. When I was first sent here I had my own tutor who helped me learn how to control my emotions. I was sent here when I was twelve and Isengard has been my home ever since.


“I’m glad you’re happy for me, it will be hard since we will see less of each other.” I stated once she had calmed down. “What do you mean?” “Sibila I will be working under Saruman solely, I won’t have my old classes and I will be moving into the upper levels.” The smile had vanished from her face. “That’s no fun we will barely be able to see each other.” “I know but this is a great opportunity for me and for most of the day I won’t have much to do since Saruman is so busy, the messenger said so.” This seemed to cheer her up a bit. “Well I guess it’s not so bad.” She said still somewhat disappointed. “See everything will be fine.” I smiled and said goodnight and headed into Orthanc early so I could be escorted to my new room.


“By the gods why are there so many stairs.” I gasped out. “Don’t ask me I didn’t design the place.” The servant said,‘ he isn’t even breathing heavily’. “Aw here we are” He said stopping at what appeared to be the fourth floor from the top. “We are quite a ways up.” I said while catching my breath. “Yes the three floors above are Saruman’s personal quarters this floor is for you.” My jaw dropped at his monotone statement. ‘A whole floor to myself.’


Since I came here I had to share my room with at least one other person. I feel a small sense of fear crept into my chest; I haven’t spent more than two hours by myself since I can remember and now I will have an entire floor at my disposal.


“And just because you get a whole floor to yourself don’t expect us to wait on your hand and foot we have more important things to do than satisfy the whims of a young girl.” I automatically bit my tongue, insulted at his accusation. He smartly didn’t say anything else as he noticed my death glare he just gave me the key and left.


Once he was gone I unlocked the door and walked into my new home. The room I walked into must be the den; it had a fireplace, a loveseat, two armchairs, several bookcases and a desk set. I thought it is quite spacious and overall very nice. The fireplace was made out of the same black stone as the rest of the tower while the furniture was made out of an elegant dark wood. On the left wall I noticed that there is a huge window that took up a large portion of the wall, while on the opposite wall there were two doors one next to the other. There were also two torches on either side of the doors and with the fireplace gave the place a warm glow.


Not sure what to do I walked towards the doors and opened one at random. I was greeted by one of the Numenorian’s best innovations “Yes a bathroom.” Walking over to inspect the tub it is huge, it’s big enough for three people to lie down in comfortably, and it was made out of a very thick black stone with the faucets in the side instead of in the front of the tube. The rest of the room had a toilet and a sink on a black marble counter making it almost blend into the wall it was attached to. Spotting another door on the wall to the left of the tube, opening it I see what must be the bedroom; the king sized bed sits in the middle of the wall opposite me with end tables on either side of it, there is a large wardrobe, a fireplace and to my right there is a set of double doors made out of the same black stone. Grasping the cold stone handles I open it to see a beautiful sight. It was a balcony that gave a beautiful view of the gardens below, Fangorn Forest and on the edge of the horizon you could see the Misty Mountains standing proudly. Being afraid of heights I kept my distance from the edge. The sight was beautiful, seeing the sun going down behind the Misty Mountains giving them a slight glow.


Suddenly a small breeze brought in the cold twilight air that snapped me out of my trance. Turning around into my new bedroom I close the doors and I just realize I can sleep in tomorrow and every day after that. Going back to the den I spent the next several hours reading. Starting to feel tired I looked up to realize it is pitch black outside. Once I had put out the fire I went to my room to hopefully get some sleep. Lying in my new bed I just couldn’t get to sleep. My only company is silence which is probably why I can’t get to sleep. Finally giving up I get out of bed and head to the den, after restocking the fire I sit on the loveseat and watch the flames dance merrily. It felt like hours had passed when I slowly started to doze off.


Suddenly I am wide awake and alert. Not sure what woke me I hear a loud crash coming from one of the floors above followed by a deep powerful voice screaming in extreme anger. Realizing it is Saruman yelling I jump up and run towards the door. Without any thought or plan as to what I was going to do I rip open the door and begin to run up several flights of stairs. As I reached for the door handle breathing heavily the door swung open to reveal an enraged Saruman with a hint of disgust on his face, but what made me freeze was the look in his eyes; under normal circumstances his coal black eyes had a soft intelligent look to them, but now they had no shine to them at all as if they were black holes with the only desire to absorb everything around it, having never seen him in this state fear crept into my heart as if I was in mortal danger. It’s only when he is about to run into me does he notice me. The hatred and rage that seemed to hang on him like a swarm of angry bees automatically dissipated, all of this took place in less than two seconds.


Noticing my fear he gives me a comforting smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” “It’s alright my lord I was already awake….” There is an awkward pause. “My lord….is everything alright?” He doesn’t reply and stares off into space lost in his own thoughts. “…..My lord?” I ask hesitantly trying to get his attention. His eyes swivel back to me “My dear that is a very good question, come let’s have some tea.” His voice has a weary tone as if he has not slept for some time. Only now do I notice the room he had stormed out of, it is octagon in shape and had a round table in the center and just as he began to close the door I noticed a round object rolling on the floor. Shutting the door he started to walk down the stairs. Nothing was said as we walked to a lower level.


When we stop at the floor of his choosing I wait for a few seconds as he opens the door, he invites me into a large room that appeared to be a lounge. He automatically sits down in an armchair and once again gets that faraway look in his eyes. Not sure what to do with myself I sit on the sofa near Saruman and just watch as he grabs his pipe from the coffee table before him and begins to smoke, the air quickly filled with the smell of pipe weed. We sit there for several minutes in complete silence.


I see his eyes dart towards me and he blinks several times, suddenly realizing I’m there. “I am sorry it has been a strenuous night.”He sighed out in between puffs of smoke; his voice is calm but with a drained quality. “My lord I know it’s not my business, but what is going on, are you alright?” I couldn’t remove the worried pitch from my voice. Heaving a sigh “I’m fine but even I am not entirely sure what has been happening of late.” His eyes abruptly had a distant daze to them but he swiftly snapped out of it.


“So what do you think of your new quarters?” He asked politely, but in a way that suggested the previous conversation has ended for now. “They’re beautiful; though it will take me while to get used to the solitude up here. I would love to know how you handle those stairs.” He had kept his eyes on me as I talked and chuckled gently at my question. Standing up he walked towards a large desk in front of a big window; his robes gliding against the floor was the only sound. Hearing a drawer open close, Saruman swiftly returned to his chair. “Open your hand.” I responded accordingly, observing as his closed hand rests on mine and as something small and cold is set against my palm, the cold of the object only intensified by the warmth of his hand. He only touches me for a second almost lingering as a glazed look came to his gaze when he pulled away from me and leaned into the chair as he slowly smoked his pipe. Looking into my hand I see a ring: it is of very simple design having nothing more than a Numenorian inscription around the band.


“Thank you…..but what is it for?” “If you have this ring on while standing near any staircase here and you hold it to your mouth you can whisper which floor you wish to go to and it will take you there.” I smiled extremely relieved to not being forced to use the stairs again. “Thank you Lord Saruman I greatly appreciate it.” I pause for a second unsure as to what to talk about. “What time would you like me to show up tomorrow?” “Well I will be preoccupied for most of the day so around six pm would be best, go to the audience room, the one directly above us.” “Alright” I continued to sit there knowing I wouldn’t be able to get to sleep if I tried “Are you not tired?” “No my lord I have trouble sleeping in new places.”


I stayed up with Saruman talking about any subject that came to mind. Our conversations ranged from philosophy to battle strategies. We even debated several times over numerous topics. By the time we retired a warm orange glow began to emerge over the horizon.


Hope you liked it. As always constructive criticism is appreciated.