A Fool's Errand

Chapter 2 - The Callous of Elves

Rashune could have laughed at the irony of her situation as she sat in the cramped cell her captors had placed her in; she and Gôrtharb had come to Rivendell to get information, and now the Elves in Rivendell were trying to get information from her.

Well, she wasn't going to crack—and the least Gôrtharb could do was not crack either, since it was completely his fault that they were in this situation in the first place.

Rashune had told him not to do anything stupid, but did he listen? Of course not—he never listened! Typical brother who thought he could get away with anything if his sister was there to get him out of it.

Just like last time.

Rashune swore that if they ever got out of this—ignoring the fact that it was highly unlikely—she'd kill him herself.

She let her smugness at this thought keep her smirking at the two Elves standing a good, safe distance away from her cell, looking equally disgusted and intrigued by the Orc sitting a few yards from them. It did not matter that there was a strong set of iron bars between them; they were still afraid of her. She could smell it. It was likely that these soft Rivendell Elves hadn't had much to do with Orcs for decades, if ever.

"When I get outta here I'm gonna rip out yer throats, you know that?" she said, pulling back her lips in a grin to show off her pointed teeth.

One of the Elves gave an unperturbed sniff. "It is a good thing you will not be getting out, then," he replied.

More fear scent.

"That's what you think!" she cackled, shooting up from the ground and raking the metal nails of her prosthetic across the bars.

Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack!

The guards jumped back at her sudden movement, the startled expressions on their faces making her laugh again. Elves were so weak.

When they recovered, one of them pursed his lips while the other took a threatening step forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword—but before anyone could do anything, the prison door opened and another Elf walked through, dragging something heavy behind him.

Gôrtharb's body.

Missing his head.

Rashune's smug smile dropped from her face as she stared at it, unable to comprehend for a moment that the headless corpse was her brother's. That he was dead. Not wanting to show vulnerability to the Elves, she hastily rearranged her face into the best impression she could make of a grin. "What ... that's supposed to scare me? I've seen plenty o' headless bodies before."

The Elves, unfortunately, were not fooled.

"He died during interrogation," said the Elf who had brought him in, relishing Rashune's distress—what little flash she showed of it, which she was really beginning to regret. "He would not cooperate."

Rashune looked him coolly in the eye. "And what makes you think I'm gonna be any more willing to co-oper-ate?" she drawled, spitting every syllable of the word with an exaggerated Orcish accent.

The interrogator stepped forward and produced a ring of keys from his belt, which Rashune eyed carefully. If she could find a way to steal those from him...

"Believe me, I will enjoy wiping that smile from your face in the interrogation chamber—and I see what you are thinking." He jangled the keys tantalizingly in front of her face. "Your little schemes do not worry me; the only way you will take these from me is if you pull them from my corpse."

Rashune laughed darkly. "Believe me, I'll enjoy that, Elf-scum. I swear, by the time I've finished with you it'll be your head rolling—"

"Enough," said a new voice. The Elves stepped away from her cell so Rashune had a clear view of the newcomer: another Elf, smaller in stature and with a few age-lines on his face—the one who had led the council. He looked at Rashune with an unreadable expression, his hands folded behind him as he stepped without hesitation right up to the bars of her cell.