The King's Hope

Chapter 1

Thranduil

I spit more blood in his face. Stupid man, he keeps shoving his nose in my face, therefore he deserves to howl in disgust. After three more kicks to my chest, I sprawl on the ground and try to breathe.

"Get up! Get up or I will kill you now," the man in the back snarls. With serious difficulty, I shift to where I am on my knees. Then I get a drop punch to the jaw.

"If you want me to stand, you might want to stop knocking me down," I mutter. That earns a roundhouse kick to the chest and another trip to the filthy floor. It's dirtier in here than it was in the cellars of my own dungeons; there are pools of sticky liquids everywhere, not to mention the grime that coats everything in here.

I haven't been allowed to sleep or eat in days, and I'm starting to feel fatigue set in. The two men start talking in a language that sounds vaguely like that of Mordor, but it's different somehow. It sounds like an argument and I hear my name more than once.

I manage to get my feet under me despite the ropes that bind my wrists and lean against the nasty wall. I am lucky that they have not cut my skin in any way. I would have developed more infections than even Elrond could handle if they had.

"We have decided that it is time to tell you why you are here, elvish filth," the shorter man spits. I roll my eyes and wait for the blow. It comes in the form of a swipe to my knee. I fall to the floor and then rise up again when the taller man rips at my hair. "You are going to be our assassin. Your first target is a man in Gondor."

"What makes you think I will do anything you say? I have nothing for you to destroy."

"On the contrary you have quite the thing to lose. We know you are engaged to the elleth from Lothlórien and we know more about her than you do. It would be a terrible shame if we had to treat her to the same welcome as you," the shorter man grins.

I grind my teeth together. How could I believe that Rhovanel would be spared? She was involved in so many things, maybe these are the men that kidnapped her? Are they working to avenge their dead master?

"If you are still under the impression that Umon is still alive, you are sorely mistaken. I burned his body myself-"

"We don't work for Umon any longer. Now we command a group more organized and connected than Umon ever managed to create. We will bring ruin to middle earth and establish our own empire."

"And you plan to do this with one single assassin who is obviously reluctant to do his job? That sounds like a winning strategy," I snicker.

"No Thranduil. We are going to do it with your kingdom. Even now, Fornor is unwittingly doing our bidding. By sending an army to find you, he will destroy anyone who appears to have harbored you. There are traces of your blood and pieces of your clothing in several key places around Middle-earth. He will declare war on them in turn, and each side will be destroyed."

Finally my wrists are free. I keep them together until the short man is done, then I lash out a crush his head against the wall. The tall man steps up and breaks my arm with one swift turn. I lunge out and crack his nose and kick his kneecap in. When he crumpled to the floor, I dash out of the cell, clutching my broken arm.

I break into a dimly lit hall and come face to face with an orc that looks exactly like Rogan. He strikes me with a huge club and I black out.