The Taking of Vanelossë - Part III

Notes and Disclaimer:
Elvish sayings:
Melethen – My love
Meleth i guilen – Love of my life.
Melethrilen - My beloved (to a woman)
Namarie - Farewell
Ada – father
Goheno nin, Seron - Forgive me, Beloved
********************************************************************
I am going to state the obvious here. I do not stick to canon or adhere to LACE in this
story! I do not own any of JRR Tolkien’s characters, I just borrow them. The following
characters (and the meanings of their names) are mine are:
Vanelossë – beautiful, snow-white Séro- peace
Alasse – joy Illisse – all sweet
Anarion – child of sun Tauro – Wood, forest
Mehtar – Warrior Calime – bright
Larin

********************************************************************
Thanks to my beta Space Weavil for not only telling me when to put commas in but
advising me on how to make it all better! Plus she helps with my Elvish on top of
everything else!
********************************************************************


CHAPTER 7
Punishment deserved


Elladan and Aragorn sat back, tired from tending to Vanelossë’s wounds for so long. Legolas held her hand and watched her for the slightest sign that she was awake. All were silent, lost in their own thoughts. The heat of the day had turned to an almost chilly and windy night.

“Legolas,” Elrohir said, his soft voice breaking through the silence as he walked to them. “Maybe now would be a good time for all of you to go for a walk and perhaps have some food.”

“I do not wish to leave her,” Legolas replied simply, not even looking at the Peredhel. “If she wakes, I want to be here.”

“Perhaps Elrohir is right, Legolas. Vanelossë will be sleeping for a while and Elrohir can find you if she wakes up. If you leave her now for a little while, you would be able to stay with her during the time she is most likely to wake up,” Aragorn suggested quietly.

Elladan rose to stand with his brother sharing a look of concern both for Legolas and Vanelossë. Aragorn also stood hoping that Legolas would as well. After a few moments, Legolas kissed her hand and followed the others, looking at Elrohir.

“Come find me if she wakes,” Legolas said and Elrohir nodded. As the three were leaving, Elrohir sat on the ground beside Vanelossë, lightly stroking her hair, wondering how this could have happened.

As he was walking towards the fire with Elladan and Aragorn, Legolas realized that someone had erected a semi tent around her to prevent the others from seeing her. Legolas smiled sadly at the thoughtfulness of the gesture knowing that Vanelossë was not in any condition to worry about modesty. Gimli and Éomer approached Legolas, hearing the laughter of several Easterlings as they moved. Legolas had not noticed them before, for they were far enough from the fire that they were to be cloaked in near complete darkness.

Legolas walked toward them, intent on making one of them, he knew not which one, pay for what they had done to Vanelossë. As Aragorn, Elladan, Gimli and Éomer followed quickly after Legolas, one of the Easterlings spoke.

“You must be the fair Prince of Mirkwood? You look like even less of a man than I had imagined you would. No wonder your woman was so eager and willing. She was glad to be with a real man.”

When Legolas charged forward, it took the combined strength of Gimli, Aragorn, Elladan, and Éomer to hold him back. Aragorn had never seen him in this state, but he could not fault Legolas. He wanted to do the same to every one of the filthy Easterlings.

Legolas was so enraged he could think of nothing other than tearing apart the man who had done this to Vanelossë: nothing else mattered at this point other than making him pay. His blood was boiling and he could feel a throbbing in his head caused by the need to destroy this man. He wanted him dead. Even more than the death of Sauron, Legolas wanted this evil destroyed. Flashes of Vanelossë, happy and playing with their children collided continuously with the images of her lying there covered in blood. Those images took his breath away with the sheer anger and pain that they evoked in him. He no longer recognized the friends restraining him; he only knew that something stood between himself and those men.

Every one of the elves, men, and rangers there watched the men struggle with Legolas. Most of them wished that they would just let him go and allow him to take his revenge. Word had spread through the camp of Vanelossë’s condition. Those who had seen her personally wished for the horrible death of these men. Everyone there wanted these men to suffer, just as their captives had.

“Silence, you worthless swine!” said one of the rangers, unable to fathom how he would react if this had been done to his own wife, looking at the leader of the Easterlings.

Larin looked over at the group of rangers standing guard over his men. When he sneered at the ranger, the other Easterlings laughed.

The ranger looked at Legolas with the deepest sympathy then back at the Easterlings in disgust. Walking over he punched the leader in the mouth, simply to wipe the sneer off his face.

“It is not your place to punish this man,” one of the ranger’s companions pulled him away and the two rangers returned to their position nearby.

The Easterling laughed again as he wiped the blood from his mouth and said, “I guess you need your friends here to do your dirty work, just as you need another man to assist you in satisfying your wife.”

The four friends had to struggle once again to hold Legolas back. The angrier he became, the harder he fought against their restraint. Several times, Legolas broke free only to be grabbed by all of them again. Each of his friends wrestled with their own desire to let him go, let him extract his revenge, but Aragorn was not going to let Legolas forget Vanelossë for the sake of revenge.

As Aragorn struggled to restrain his friend, he yelled, “Legolas, this is not the time for this! Vanelossë needs you now. Do not worry about making this animal pay for what he has done. There will be time for that and it will happen, I assure you. This man’s punishment can wait until Vanelossë is well. Vanelossë needs you Legolas more than she needs you to avenge her. Do not do this!”

Aragorn felt as if the elf before him was someone he did not know. He had seen Legolas in battle but this was nothing like that. Even in battle, Legolas had a calm demeanor. He was so in control with the same mannerisms whether he was facing one or one hundred enemies. Legolas was crazed at this point and Aragorn had no idea if he would back down or manage to rip away from his friends long enough to kill the Easterling. Aragorn felt a sense of desperation in restraining Legolas.

Legolas heard Aragorn’s words but his rage was such that he could not seem to calm himself. Everything in him felt the burning desire to kill this Easterling. Finally, Legolas was able to draw a few breaths trying to clear his mind of his murderous thoughts. Aragorn was right, now was not the time but it would be soon.

Aragorn could feel Legolas calm slightly. He looked into the elf’s eyes and could see the flame of his anger still burning bright. Aragorn knew he had to draw Legolas’ thoughts back to what mattered and keep him collected, for Vanelossë’s sake. Nothing else mattered at this moment beyond helping his friend back away from the edge of his fury before it was too late.

Legolas relaxed his body but everyone of his friends remained alert, prepared to act should the rage to begin again. Legolas was breathing heavily; he felt sick as all of his emotions overwhelmed him to the point of madness. He knew Aragorn was right but his rage could not be ignored, and he would burn before he would let that man sit there gloating while Vanelossë was in agony. She was to the point where she could not even stay conscious while this vile animal sat laughing with his friends.

Flashes of what had happened tonight tore through his brain, but those thoughts came to rest on one person. That person was Orophin. This man had tormented him as well. He had been forced to violate Vanelossë. He was wrapped in guilt and wished for his own death. If Legolas could not deliver this man suffering right now, then Orophin had the right to.

“Orophin!” Legolas called loudly.

Orophin had been sitting beside the fire, watching Legolas being restrained by his friends, all the while hoping Legolas broke free and killed Larin. When Legolas called out to him, he was shocked. Glancing at Rumil and Mehtar sitting near by, Orophin rose and walked quickly over to Legolas. Mehtar, who was concerned about Legolas having never seen him like this, followed Orophin to aid his prince if need be.

When Orophin reached Legolas, who was still being held by his four friends, Legolas looked at him with fury and Orophin’s guilt burned again.

In a cold voice, Legolas said, “I want each of those dogs whipped and beaten. And the one that did this to my wife? I want you personally to assure that the filth is beaten as badly as she was.”

Orophin nodded and Legolas grabbed his arm. “Orophin, do not hold back, do not let anything stop you from putting him in the same condition she is in. Do not forget what he did to her and to you, what he did to every one of you. Remember how you felt as you watched her savagely whipped and make him pay, Orophin, make him pay. You are owed this vengeance. Make him suffer as she has, as she suffers still. But do not kill him. That right is mine. When Vanelossë is well, I will claim that right. Until then, you must do this for me. Do this for her, Orophin.”

Elladan and Gimli watched Legolas carefully; looking for signs that he might need restraining. Aragorn took Mehtar’s arm, and said, “Take the Easterlings away from this area. These women have been through enough as captives of this filth. They do not need to see what you do to them. Then make sure that the Easterlings’ leader is gagged when he returns back to the camp area. Éomer, please have some of your men make sure that none of them escape.”

Mehtar and Orophin nodded then walked to the Easterlings. They both grabbed Larin and jerked him to his feet.

“Well, if it is not my old friends Orophin and Mehtar. I guess it is time for a little reunion,” Looking at Orophin, he laughed. “I suspect you never told the prince how much you enjoyed his wife. How you savored every second of being buried deep within her? I think you enjoyed her more than I did.”

For a long moment, no one said a word. Orophin felt sick and he looked toward Legolas. The two elves stared at each other. Orophin’s guilt was reflected in his eyes as much as Legolas’ pain was mirrored in his own. Orophin’s shame was overwhelming before he saw the rage return to Legolas’ eyes.

“Orophin. Make him suffer, you owe me this,” Legolas said.

Elladan and Aragorn pulled a reluctant Legolas away from the crowd and out of sight of the Easterlings. Without a word, both Rumil and Tauro left the fire and went to assist Mehtar and Orophin in this gruesome task. Coming up beside his younger brother, Rumil grabbed Orophin’s arm gently pulling him out of hearing of the others.

“Orophin let this vengeance assuage your guilt as well. You cannot live with this rage. It will destroy you. Legolas knows all that happened now and he wants you to have your absolution as well as your revenge. Do not deny him the dignity of forgiving you for what you had no choice in doing.”

Orophin, Rumil, and their companions dragged Larin deep into the woods as he struggled against them, a look of stark fear in the Easterling’s eyes. The elves took their time lashing the man to a tree, tightening the ropes until they cut his skin and blood oozed over the rough cord. Orophin took up the whip, winding it slowly as he approached the filthy Easterling and looked at him with pure hatred in his eyes. Larin, in one last act of defiance, gave him a look of scorn and spat at his feet.

“For every second we have suffered, you shall suffer an hour,” Orophin said angrily to Larin, tugging the leather of the whip as he stepped away.

Standing at a distance, Orophin cracked the whip one time and the Easterling winced in anticipation. Then Orophin drew his arm back and began to beat the man who had been the cause of so much suffering and humiliation. With each pass of the whip, Orophin’s guilt and pain diminished. He would never eradicate it completely, but he would be vindicated and the anguish would become a dull ache that he could tolerate. Orophin continued to beat his tormentor until he was exhausted, making sure that for every mark on Vanelossë’s body, Larin bore four in the exact same place. When he could no longer lift his arm to raise the whip, Orophin fell to his knees and wept.

As Orophin dealt with his own anguish, Aragorn pulled Legolas back to Vanelossë knowing he needed to be with her, to calm and sooth her. Nothing would ease Legolas’ wrath more than the need to care for his wife. His anger was consuming him and he needed to pull away from it for a while and concentrate on Vanelossë. Elrohir looked up at the two of them and nodded silently as he walked away. Passing by Legolas, he touched him on the arm.

“Legolas, she will recover. We will not allow anything else,” Elrohir said softly.

Elrohir and Elladan were both tormented, every bit as much as Aragorn. The two brothers had known Vanelossë all her life and to see her like this was sickening. Elrohir pushed the thoughts of his own mother’s torment out of his mind as best he could. This was Legolas’ vengeance, not his own.

When the other two had walked away, Aragorn looked at Legolas for a moment before Legolas looked at him.

“Aragorn, I have never felt such rage as I do now. I never knew I was even capable of these feelings, I…” Legolas grew quiet again.

Putting his hand on Legolas’ shoulder, Aragorn said, “What has happened here would cause anyone, man or elf, to go beyond their normal capacity of anger. Everyone there understood your reaction, knowing they would feel the same as well. Now, take some time alone with Vanelossë. I will return when I need to check on her wounds but if she needs me, I will be nearby.”

Legolas nodded and as Aragorn left, he sat down beside his wife. He struggled against the tears of sorrow threatening to fall. He gently pulled her hair away then stroked her brow, the only part of her face not bruised. He knew the subtle difference in her breathing caused by her pain for he had listened to that sound for many years and knew it as well as he knew the beat of his own heart. He kissed her forehead, a single tear falling on his face.

“Vanelossë, forgive me for leaving you. My love, if I could change things now, I would. I never would have left you and our children if I had thought there was danger to any of you. You cannot leave me now. I know you are strong but you must be stronger now than you ever have been. You must fight this darkness that now shrouds your dreams. Do not let those animals take you away from me, away from our children who need you so much.”

Legolas had become to weep as he pleaded with her. “Melethrilen, I cannot go on without you. It took me a lifetime to find you but now that I have, I cannot let you go so soon. I will not let you go. If you fade, I will as well. Without you, I cannot go on. Our children need us both. I cannot do this alone. Alasse and Illisse need you to teach them to see the beauty in others as you always have. They need to learn so many things from you that I cannot teach them, only you can. They will be lost without you. Who will comfort Illisse when she cries because I am not there, if you are gone? When Alasse is too serious, who will remind her how to have fun and be a child? You are the one who can do this, only you. For they look at you as the wisest and most beautiful in all of Arda. No one could ever take your place in their hearts, nor in mine.”

“Séro would be lost without you. You always understand his thinking when I cannot. With a simple glance in his direction, you seem to know when he is about to do something unexpected. I know that even though he has done many unpredictable deeds, I also know how many times you have stopped him before he had a chance. Only you have the patience to handle all of the turmoil he causes everywhere he goes. Plus you understand how he thinks and his wildness while I grow impatient with him. His free spirit would be crushed without you, Vanelossë.”

“Anarion has not known you long enough to lose you forever. He will grow up never knowing you. Not remembering the small things that our other children know by heart now. You cannot leave our baby without knowing you.”

“Sauron has been destroyed and Middle Earth will begin to heal but that means nothing to me without you. I will have aided in saving Middle Earth, only to lose the reason I was fighting. All of Middle Earth could fall into darkness if I could change the past and protect you. Even if we had to leave Arda forever, I would have taken you and the children away from all of this.”

“Please, my love, do not leave me. You must fight hard to recover so we can be together. So we can watch our children grow and once again have a peaceful life that we cherish so much as it was before I left. I yearn for the days of waking up to you, feeling your body next to mine, hearing your laughter, seeing your smile. Do not take that away from me. I could not bear the pain of losing you.”

Legolas noticed that the more he talked, the more her breathing seemed to settle. Looking down at her, he saw her eyelids flutter and she opened them for a brief moment. When she saw him, a spark lit in her eyes and a shadow of a smile crossed her bruised and swollen lips. Legolas felt the stabbing ache of regret and anger in his heart once more, relieved only by the more powerful love that consumed him for her.

“Meleth i guilen,” she whispered before she closed her eyes and fell back asleep. (Love of my life)

Legolas took her hand gently and held it to his cheek. He lay his head down beside her so he could be as close to her as possible. Taking a deep breath as he fought back the tears that threatened to overpower his control, he whispered back into the night.

“Goheno nin, Seron.” (Forgive me, beloved)

The exhaustion of the previous days overtook him and he fell asleep beside her.

Aragorn waited for a long time before he checked on Vanelossë. He saw Legolas sleeping beside her and felt his heart tighten. The thought of the two of them going through this was hard to swallow. Carefully, he checked on her fever then lay on the other side of her in case she worsened during the night.

Vanelossë stirred and moaned in a feverish state throughout the night. Aragorn checked on her periodically as Legolas looked on nervously. After the first time she woke him, Legolas was unable to fall back asleep so consumed with concern for her. Towards dawn, her fever still raged and she was in agony. Legolas and Aragorn began to work in shifts with Elladan relieving Aragorn at times, trying to cool her fever.

Aragorn would check her wounds frequently and try to give her something to ease her pain but he had nothing strong enough to battle what she was suffering. Legolas would not leave her side often, wanting to be there for her if she woke up. Their friends suffered along with them, each dealing with his own heartache over the physical pain of Vanelossë and the mental anguish of Legolas.

Trying to distract himself and maintain some control of the situation, Elrohir had groups of elves sent to Mirkwood, Imladris, and Lothlórien to give word that the elves had been found and were in safe hands. After a few days, some of the ellith were well enough to travel. Each of them came to Legolas and told him how brave his wife had been and how grateful they were that she had been there for them. They promised to pray for her recovery.

The Lothlórien ellyn took their ellith back to their home. Orophin refused to go until Vanelossë had recovered and Rumil stayed with his brother. The four ellith as well as the ellyn from Mirkwood insisted on staying, as did the rangers. Éomer had sent word to Gandalf, sending some of the Rohirrim and Gondorian soldiers with the message. Only a few remained to guard the Easterlings and provide safe passage back to Edoras and Minas Tirith for their kings.

One day, when Vanelossë was sleeping, finally free from the fever that had raged through her for days, Legolas approached Orophin.

“Come with me,” Legolas replied shortly and walked to towards the Easterlings.

Orophin followed without question as his brother looked nervously at Legolas’ friends.

Grabbing Larin by his bound hands, Legolas threw him down face first on the ground.

“Orophin, hold him down,” Legolas said with a calm voice that surprised Orophin.

Placing his knee on Larin’s wounded back, which was still raw from the lashings; Orophin put enough weight on him to prevent him from moving. Orophin waited patiently, watching to see what Legolas would do. Grabbing Larkin’s bound arms and jerking them forward, Legolas pulled out his knife. When Larin started to struggle, Orophin took his hand and pushed down on Larin’s head so he could not move. Legolas began to cut into Larin exactly as Larin had cut into Vanelossë while Orophin continued to hold him down.

As the blood flowed from his new injuries, Legolas waved Orophin away. Orophin removed his knee from the Easterlings’ back and sat back. Grabbing Larin by the hair, Legolas pulled his head up so he could see him as he said to the man,

“I will continue to do this every day until you bleed to death. Everyday you will suffer as my wife has. Only you will not be violated as she was, only an animal such as yourself could sink to that level. You are little more than a snake. Look at you, crawling on your belly in the filth. I will make you regret every time you put your filthy hands on my beautiful wife, every time you defiled her with your presence, every single time your eyes rested on her. You will pay; do not doubt me in this. Soon, you will be begging me to kill you, to let your suffering end, but before the time comes that I grant your request, you will crawl in the dust at my feet like the viper that you are. Remember this, vile curse from the east, every single thing you have done to her, you have done to me as well. I now demand payment for our injuries. She will be the last woman to suffer at your hands for I will show you no mercy. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that I will return tomorrow, if you have not bled to death by then.”

Legolas let go of Larin’s hair and looked at him with contempt. Orophin rose and jerked Larin back to his feet, shoving him in with the rest of the Easterlings. As Legolas walked away, Aragorn approached with Gimli. Legolas gave Aragorn a slightly defiant look as if daring him to say anything. Aragorn looked at Larin for a moment before he looked back at Legolas.

“I am impressed with your ability to hold back for so long.”

“Mehtar and Orophin have kept me informed of his pain from his nightly whippings. The other man who violated my wife was killed when the rangers and Elrohir found them chasing after the women that had escaped, so I do not have him to torture.” Legolas looked back at the Easterlings then said, “Since these other men tortured and violated the other women, they will suffer the same fate as their leader.”

“Do you feel any relief?” Gimli asked. He could not imagine what was going on in Legolas’ head.

“Not even close. I could torture him half to death every day of his life and I will never feel relieved,” Legolas said as he walked off.

Returning to Vanelossë, Legolas lay beside her and watched her sleep. She had improved greatly in the last few days and the bruises on her face and neck were beginning to fade. He could now see her beauty more than her bruises. Her back was healing quickly, thanks to Elladan and Aragorn’s skills at healing, and though she was still gravely injured and not recovered wholly, she had improved greatly since he had seen her that first night.

Legolas knew that she had as many mental scars as she did physical scars but he was ready to take her home to their children so she could begin to recover. He could not believe that this had happened. A week ago, he was dreaming of finally going home to her and their children, and all he could think about then was how her hair smelled or the way her skin felt. Now her skin was sliced into pieces so badly, they had to keep her on her stomach at all times to prevent her from being subjected to more pain. She had been sleeping most of the time since they had found her, exhausted from the agony and the fever that raged for days. He was relieved that she had a brief respite from the horror of what happened. He felt that when she woke up the emotional pain would overwhelm her and he was afraid that she could not handle anymore or she would fade.

Legolas saw her stir and open her eyes slightly. Smiling at her, he reached over and stroked her hair gently. She reached her injured arm up and caressed his face reassuring herself that he was, in fact real and not just a dream.

“I missed you so much. You are all I have thought of while you were gone. My nights were so empty without you,” she whispered.

Legolas kissed her hand and pulled it to rest on his chest over his heart. Looking deep into her eyes he said, “No matter where I am, Vanelossë, you are always close to my heart.”

“I want to see our children. I want our peaceful life back. The children will be so happy to see you, they have missed you greatly.”

“They will be happy to see you as well, Melethen. You have been gone for some time now. They miss you when you are gone an hour, so they will have missed you greatly as well.”

As Vanelossë looked at him, tears filled her eyes. “Legolas, you have no idea how close Séro came to being found by those men. I do not even want to think what would have happened if he had been caught as well.” Her lip trembled as she continued. “Do you think they are safe? Do you know if they are well? I am worried about what Séro may have seen or how Anarion is doing without me there to care for him. And you know the girls are upset and Illisse has probably cried the whole time.”

“Everything will be right when we return home. We will leave as soon as you are well enough. Do not worry so, or you will delay your healing.”

Vanelossë was quiet for a minute before saying softly, “Do you remember the first day we met? The day at the waterfalls?”

“I remember very fondly,” he smiled at the vision of the first time he saw her.

“I knew then that you were going to cause my life to change. And that night when you kissed me, I knew deep down that I was going to love you forever no matter if you loved me in return,” she said softly.

“Melethrilen, I have loved you so long and I love you so much, I could not go on living without you. I was terrified that you were going to be killed, and when I think of what they have done to you it makes me feel like I am breaking inside. I am sorry that I was not here to protect you,” Legolas said softly, as a single tear ran down his cheek to fall on her hand. “You are such a beautiful person, something so evil should never have touched you.”

Legolas’ eyes darkened with rage. “He will pay for what he has done. He is paying nightly for the pain he caused you. But when you are well, I will rip him apart,” Legolas said, unable to hide his need for justice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~