Guess what? I'm baaaaaaaack....

The past week has been hard. Everyday I'm dragged up several flights of stairs, strapped to a cold metal table, and scream through a gag as I lay in a puddle of my own blood. Every day I flinch more and more whenever Saruman--or anyone for that matter--moves. I'm not sure what exactly he's trying to do: is he just trying to cause me enough pain that I succumb to The Darkness inside me? Or is he trying to get me weak enough from blood loss to access my ability?

Yesterday my Gift came back to me, the mark on my leg faded away to nothing. There I was, sitting in the corner trying to recover from that day's events, when I felt a zap run through my whole body. Before I knew it, I could feel the energy that ran through the air, the concrete, Melnare's sleeping form, thrum through me. But I chose to heed Melnare's warning. Besides, even if I chose to use my ability to escape, I would run out of energy to soon--I'm too weak from blood loss to even stagger across my cell. Maybe that's why Saruman has decided to treat me as a lamb on the slaughtering block. But I've been slowly, oh so slowly, gathering energy from around me to build up my own reserves. At least I'm not as dead-tired anymore.

I can see that Melnare's concerned for my well-being, she always keeps an eye on me (even though I have yelled at her to stop), gives me her food--only keeping a small portion for herself (I have yelled at her about this too), and she allows me to keep warm with her cloak (I haven't yelled at her about this). Melnare's the thing in my life that keeps me living, every day she talks to me. She has talked about almost everything, she just doesn't talk about herself. She has literally kept the life from leaving me. As well as draining my blood, Saruman seems to be draining my will to live. But oh well.

All I do is sit, count the seconds until they come for me again. I wince as I move into a more comfortable position. Today--or was it yesterday, I can't even keep track of the days anymore--Saruman cut up my thigh. I looked down at my pants that are now crusted with blood.

The only thing that I take satisfaction from is the look of pure frustration on Saruman's face as he tortures me and I don't bend to The Darkness's will. Towards the end of every Torture Session I can feel the seductive power of that Darkness start to rise, but if Saruman knew that I was feeling it awakening, he wouldn't have stopped for the day. I fear for that day when he senses that I can sense that terrible presence in me.

My head nods forward as sleep takes over and I dream of blood, knifes, and cold metal operating tables that are not put in my head from Sauron but by me.

********

The shrill squeak of the metal door opening to the dungeon reverberates off the walls. I whimper away from the uruks that enter, my injuries screaming in protest. But I should know by now that they don't come for me at this time—they just bring food and a new water bucket for both Melnare and I. But still, I don't look up until Melnare's soft voice calls to me.

"They're gone, Lumornel, they're gone." Slowly I look up, searching all the dark corners for any that could've lingered. My breathing shallow, I crawl to where they left stale bread and old cheese next to a water pail. Melnare's wise, deep and ageless eyes watch me as I eat. She's making sure I don't puke. Sometimes my stomach just doesn't agree with food. At least not when my nerves and anxiety is acting up. Like it has been. Oops.

"My dear child, don't lose yourself to despair, for good things are just around the corner," Melnare has told me multiple times. I keep the words in my mind always, when I'm going to sleep, when I'm staring at the rust on the bars, when I'm being cut up. The words remind me of the stone Legolas gave me. I take it out and hold it. 'Just focus on the good things that are to come,' I tell myself over and over when all seems lost, but sometimes the sense of being left here and forgotten eats me until tears run down my face. I just need to live until I see my friends again, until I see him.

I always enjoy Melnare's talks, like right now, when she talks about the most interesting things.

My friend leans over on her knees, reaching through the bars to hand me half of her bread roll.

"Thanks," I mutter as I take the food that she should be keeping for herself.

"A shoemaker, seamstress, and a dwarf go to the market and..." I listen to her riddle, trying to sift through the clues.

I break a smile, "the dwarf and the fabric, right? I'm correct, aren't I?"

Melnare's face lightens with a smile and nods.

"Yes! I knew it!" She laughs.

I arrange for a more comfortable position on Melnare's cloak. The magic that keeps it cleans still hasn't worn off. But why would it now when its lasted for however long Melnare has had it (which I suspect has been several hundred years)?

"Tell me a joke," she commented. I try thinking of one while I eat and end up giggling around my food as I finally come up with one. It's stupid though.

"What do you call a rich fish?" I giggle more. She sits thoughtfully for a moment thinking of all possible answers.

"A gold fish?" I gape.

"H-how did you possibly guess correctly?!" she shrugs, her brown hair shifting.

I throw my arms up in exasperation. "The point of a joke is for you not to know the answer, or at least don't say anything if you do know it! It's more funny that way."

I see her suppressing a smile and shrugging, "whatever you say."

"H--" The metal door shrieks open.

Whimpering, I scuffle back to the wall. I knew what they were here for. Me.

The Uruks-hai took the key ring out that held the key to this cell. Watching in agony, I wrung my sweaty hands.

I struggled as they grabbed my arms. Struggling was useless, for I too am to weak.

"He only wins if you let him break you, Lumornel!" Melnare calls out to me as the uruks drag me towards the exit. But what if I'm already broken?

Almost like she sensed what I was thinking she said, "being broken isn't always bad, mellon, you can build yourself up again with diamond and steel and you'll be stronger than you ever were."

I gulped, digesting her words. Maybe, just maybe--

Stay strong, my dear daughter, and heed Lady Melnare's words. All will be well in time if you let it be.

My breath caught in my throat as Galadriel's voice floated through my mind.

My Lady? I tried thinking back.

I got no answer. But instead of sulking I lifted my chin, almost feeling Galadriel's fingers do it for me. I will stay strong. I will stay positive. I will stay Lumornel. Maybe even build her stronger.

The painful trip up to Saruman didn't seem as long this time. Although my heart sunk considerably when my eyes caught sight of that metal table with dried blood on it. Can't they at least make an attempt to clean it? They'd probably make me do it.

The uruks didn't need to be told now to lead me to that terrible table and strap me down.

Stay strong.

I stuck my chin up.

Stay strong.

I took in a breath.

St--

But staying strong doesn't mean just enduring, it means not having to endure anymore. To stand up for yourself, so you don't have to endure. I felt something in me shift, like a part of me falling into place.

I pushed my feet into the ground, causing the uruks to stop and struggle to drag me to the table.

"Stop," I breathed out.

"Stop!" I forced all my limbs to be like steal, unmovable.

Taking in a deep breath, I turned my head around spotting Saruman walking towards us. He held a curious expression.

"I won't stand for this. Let me go! Release Melnare!" Saying such things won't do me any good, but I didn't care anymore.

Saruman came to stand in front of us, silent as ever. "Put her on the table."

My eyes widened. No. No! I protested as the uruks preceded to lift me on the table and strap me down, panic filling my veins. I gave them a rough time tying me down, I can promise you that.

When I couldn't move, they stopped tightening the leather straps.

"No..." I whimpered as Saruman's forehead came into view.

I felt his fingers as he pushed down my shirt, I heard the clatter of him picking up a knife, I felt sting of the knife cutting the skin on my collarbone. I felt the metal reverberate off bone. I don't think I ever stopped screaming through it. Although he seemed to have cut every inch of me, he didn't cut much of the parts of me that would be visible to prying eyes, he also didn't cut any of the marks I had that marked me as the One the prophecy speaks of.

With every scrape against bone, I felt sicker and sicker, felt myself slipping more and more.

That tendril of black uncoiled deep within me. I felt it caress my ribs, itching to get out. I internally sighed, when the black snake comes to life, it means that this torture is about to end. But it didn't end.

And that slithering black snake didn't go away. It built along with the pain. It writhed and bucked. It pounded to get out. It screeched and scratched. I struggled to keep it under check, to keep it locked up. Soon I was panting, but it wasn't because of the physical torture.

Saruman hummed along with the scrape of the scalpel, along with my rising rage. With every hum and scrape, with every scuffle of uruk feet, the angry red wave grew larger.

"Those friends of yours, the three warriors of varied species, gave my servants a terrible time trying to escape my clutches. Even managed to fell a good portion of them." He paused, along with my heartbeat. "But my servants are great in number and you companions were over whelmed."

Red covered my vision and that darkness howled in excitement.

"I wonder, did you hear their screams through the night? Did you hear them beg for mercy? Can you guess what I gave th—"

I didn't let him finish. This ends now. All of this ends now.

With a roar, I released the snake. A black wave lashed out like a whip. I heard the screeching of uruks and Saruman shouting. Blood flow return to my limbs. The leather straps hung in tatters.

Jumping up, I swayed on me feet and got into a fighting stance. The door was only ten feet away. But the black wave was already receding.

"Retrieve her!" The White Warlock boomed.

He may have already broken me, but he couldn't stop me as I took that dark power within me and weld it into my own white light of energy. Black was engulfed with pure white, wiping it clean of its evil stain, and my light became ten times brighter, a thousand times brighter. And it blinded those who didn't cover their eyes in time.

I used the allotted time I gave myself and pumped my legs into action, running like a horde of Balrogs followed.

Pushing past the giant double doors, I ran down the stone stairs, down, down, down I went. My breath burned in my lungs and throat. I felt the pounding of the uruks following behind and heard Saruman bellowing orders.

Run. Run faster. Faster!

I tripped on a step. The world tipped and suddenly halted as I caught myself on the railing.

My collarbone stung like hell itself, but I barely noticed. My only focus was getting to the exit door. After that, I don't know. I'll have all the orcs and uruk-hai out there to deal with.

CRACK! The shock wave from whatever that sound was sent me stumbling. Orc's started screaming orders, more sounds of that something kept shaking the tower. Then—

A roar sounding older than Arda itself filled the air with its rage, many more followed it. I didn't think I wanted to know what creature that voice belonged too. But I guess I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to escape.

Finally—Finally I made it to the exit—

Only to see trees—Ents—destroying Isengard in their rampage. I felt my eyes go wide as saucers as I watched the timeless creatures of nature destroy Saruman's unearthly mechanisms. Watched as several got caught on fire by orcs. As they threw boulders onto their enemy.

And then I saw the last thing I ever expected to see.

Three little hobbits sat perched atop an Ent. They aided in the chaotic battle anyway they could, whether that be yelling battle cries or throwing well aimed stones.

I strangle cry came out of me, then I was screaming their names until it scraped my throat raw.

They can't hear me, I realized in my panic.

So I did the only thing I could think to do: I harnessed a small ball of energy, not enough to harm, then struggled to send it hurtling yards and yards away until it hit Pippin.

Pippin swayed dangerously atop the walking tree, then looked around in alarm. If I weren't in a panicked haze I probably would've laughed at the expression on the little hobbit's face.

I tried to summon forth light, but I had already stretched my power to far. I wished I had practiced more in Lothlorien and on the way here with my companions. Maybe if I had I would have more endurance.

So instead I jumped up and down, waving my arms wildly through the air.

I watched as Pippin's face erupted with a blinding smile and turned to tell his hobbit companions. But the hobbits didn't even get to see me as a sound that sounded like the earth yawning drew our attention to the east.

I giant Ent had pulled at the water dam, sending watery death towards us.

I wasn't sure I was breathing as I turn one-eighty, and sprinted right back into Orthanc. I couldn't hear my own feet hitting the floor over the rushing water headed to claim our lives.

I found those black clad stairs that are responsible for the many bruises on my ribs, back, and legs, and ran down them.

Only to run into a horde of orcs. They screeched and yelled when I knock a few of them down the stairs, the rest followed me in pursuit.

My heartbeat was loud in my ears, my breath too. I had to get to Melnare, I can't leave her to a watery death. I want her to bathe in the warmth of the sun once again, to see another day go by, not surrounded by stone, but by fresh air, nature, and the love and happiness of a friend.

I jumped over the orcs that had fallen, kicked them in the head as I went to keep them from getting back up. I heard the orcs behind me taunting me, scraping their weapons on the stone wall.

Further down I went, the darker it became. Soon sight left me. But I didn't have time for my eyes to adjust and I didn't have the strength to call upon my light. So I blindly stumble down the winding stairs, keeping one hand on the wall.

I brushed up against an orc that was turning the corner, heard its cry of alarm but not its blade unsheathing. Sharp pain erupting on my hip had me hissing through my teeth, but I did not stop. No, I pushed through the pain and ran even faster.

I almost let out cry of relief when I saw the door leading to the cells. I didn't even care that an orc brute stood guarding the door.

Before he had a chance to register my appearance, I took him by the neck and threw him against the door so hard his neck snapped. His lifeless body slumped to the door—

Orcs screams echoed down to me, so did the sloshing of water battering the walls, falling down the stairs—

I scrambled for the dead orcs keys, my hands shaking so bad it took my three tries to get the key in the hole.

I could barely stand on my shaking legs as I threw open the door and yanked it shut just in time to hear the water hammer thunderously against the metal door.

I turned shakily to see Melnare standing, hands wrapped around the bars of her cell, "what happened?"

So I told her as I unlocked the door she'd been locked behind for who knows how long.

Then we turned towards the only exit out of here to see water rushing out of the large gap from the bottom of the door.

I looked into Melnare's soil-brown eyes to find the same despair in my own.

I had locked us away in a watery coffin that would soon steal all our air away.

*********

"A man that runs from fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it"

                          --J.R.R. Tolkien

Sorry for the long wait (again). I'll start working n next chapter soon. Can't talk now, gotta blast. Heading down to Hopkinsville to see the eclipse. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. thanks for the support guys.