Fo.A 2, August 20th

Amarth stumbled and tripped over the ruined gates of the once great fortress of Fornost, wondering if he should have just wandered off to die; better by far than facing her wrath. If she didn't have that cursed dagger, he would have killed her long ago.

It was a surprise that her pull had brought him to this place, considering that her abode was much farther north. He'd come here many times, but the fact that she was here seemed to add to the gloom.

Amarth, having barely survived the encounter at Annúminas, had slowly been making his way northward when he felt the pull of the dagger and set this new course.

He stopped short in the courtyard, every sense on alert. She was here.

"So, the dog returns to its master, whipped and chastised," came a voice, echoing through the yard. "What a loyal pup you are." The voice was silky smooth, and her rich tones were almost intoxicating.

Amarth gritted his teeth, eyes searching for any sight of her. "Boromir was not as weak as you thought him to be," Amarth said tightly.

"Do not blame your failures on me!" The women appeared in the doorway to his right. "I gave you the power you asked for," she replied darkly, descending the steps. "It is not my fault that you squandered your chance at revenge because you decided to toy with them first."

Rage surged thought Amarth's veins, and he struggled to keep his emotions in check. The women stopped an arm's length away, her long raven hair bound in a tight braid, and an iron circlet resting on her brow. Amarth noticed that her dark brown eyes looked particularly deadly this day.

"You were supposed to kill them both," she whispered coldly.

"If you wanted them dead so badly, Dathriel, you should have done it yourself."

"I cannot, you fool!" Dathriel shrieked, and eerie blackness covering her eyes.

"Now, now, this is not the time to go batty on me," Amarth said. "I killed the hobbit girl, and her lover will have killed himself already. The fat one was probably driven mad like the other one and thrown himself into the lake. Are two men really such a threat to you?"

"Idiot! They are all threats!" Dathriel hissed. "They serve The One and His will set against us. Our Master-

"Your master," Amarth interjected. "I serve no master but myself."

Dathriel smiled knowingly, which gave Amarth a very uneasy feeling. She withdrew a black handled dagger and held it up in front of him. "Doom cannot be master when there is another power over it," she said, clearly enjoying herself. "Now kneel."

Amarth's knees gave out beneath him, sending him sprawling on the ground. Dathriel leaned down next to his ear. "As long as I have this dagger, I own you. Don't forget that."

Whatever hold she had on him eased somewhat, allowing him to sit on his knees. "So now what?" he asked bitterly.

Dathriel's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "The one good thing to come from your failure is that you have lured Údar away from his friends. He's no doubt hell-bent on revenge and killing you for what you've done.

"We shall set a trap for him, and when he comes-"

"We kill him!"

Dathriel slapped Amarth hard. "No, you ignorant fool! We make him suffer. We make him watch as everything he holds dear burns down around him."

Amarth smiled now; he liked the sound of that. "How?"

Dathriel moved closer, running a slender finger down Amarth's stubbled jawline. "We use his past against him."

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Údar sat on his haunches staring at the abandoned fortress of Fornost, doubt continuing to nag at him. He'd told himself he was doing this for Merry, Frodo, Arabella, and the others; in truth, it was because he wanted to. Amarth was a menace that could not be allowed to roam free. This place would be fitting for his death.

Údar stooped as he began making his way towards the gate, ears straining to detect any signs of Amarth's presence. The elf could be hiding anywhere, and Údar preferred to get the jump on him, rather than the other way around.

A heavy mist settled all around him as he made his way deeper into the fortress. A feeling of unease creeping into his mind.

In the distance, Údar heard giggling and felt cold fear snake down his spine, stopping him dead in his tracks. He saw shadows moving, combining, shredding, and twisting into forms without face or recognition. They moved liked spiders, slithered like snakes, writhed like worms. They rose and fell in torturous heaps until, finally, figures crawled out of the congealed mess.

The first to emerge was Ninel, followed by Boromir, Pippin, Merry, and Arabella; but these were disfigured copies of the originals, with hideous boils, open wounds, and maggoty sore.

Údar recoiled, gorge rising in his throat at the sight of the creatures, and his hand went to his sword, remembering then that he'd left it behind. Only now did it occur to him that he'd made a grave mistake.

"Daddy," said the creature who looked like Ninel, arms raised as like it was waiting for an embrace. "Come home, Daddy."

"You knew she was yours and you ran," said Boromir accusingly.

"You betrayed us," said Pippin.

"You lied to us," added Arabella.

"You're the reason I'm dead," said Merry.

Údar backed into a wall, terror flooding through his veins. He closed his eyes, willing the madness to end, but they all started talking at once, crowding in on him slowly.

Údar ran.

Bolting to his right, he rushed blindly into the depths of the fortress neither seeing nor hearing. He just had to survive.

A foot snaked out, tripping him, and sending him tumbling down a flight of steps. Údar bounced down the steps, pain consuming his mind as he landed at the bottom. Stars appeared in his vision and pain roared through his arms and sides.

Two glowing eyes appeared above him, smiling smugly down at him. Another pair of eyes joined the first, hard, cruel, and deep, deep brown. Those eyes...

Údar knew them. Through the agony that seared through his mind like fire, one name above all came to his lips. "Nal...wen."

The woman smiled, eyes alight with cruel intent. "Hello, my love."

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHA wow, I gotta say, this was probably my favorite chapter so far to write. Packed full of crazy madness (I think I have issues) and that last sucker punch at the end *whew*

I'm hyped up and I haven't even had coffee this morning! 8D

Anyways, yes, it is Nalwen, Údar's ex-wife and she is not so dead! No, I did not bring her back from the dead as I've done with other characters, she never really died in the first place, and that will be explained later.

You may also be wondering why Amarth has stubble on his elven face. Well, he's let himself go a bit while he was hanging from chains for a century. Údar failed to set him up with one of those subscription plans where they deliver razors; something about it being outside of the zip code or something.

..........

Anyway, comment below and let me know what you thought of the chapter! 8D