The Light Between Our Scars | Adar x Galadriel | Rings of Power

Chapter 4: Pride and Prejudice

Adar woke up. An intense pain radiated from his chest through every single nerve of his body. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't; his throat was parched, and the taste in his mouth was metallic. He looked around and saw black treetops under the pink dawn sky. He closed his eyes again, hoping that the fog in his brain would thin away. He remembered some flashes of what had happened before he fell unconscious. The pain of Morgoth's Crown in his chest. Galadriel battling with Sauron. The betrayal of Glug. He felt his heartbeat accelerating, realizing that he had lost the only thing he cared about - his children. 

All these scenes were dancing in his mind without meaning, and he felt gaps in these memories that couldn't be filled. Why was Galadriel there? And what happened before the betrayal of his children? Sauron wanted something from Galadriel, this he remembered; but what was it? And why did he end up with Morgoth's Crown skewered in his body? His temples throbbed, and Adar gave up on making sense of it all. He opened his eyes again and tried to sit up. 

The Uruk felt a warmth in his hand - a soft and gentle touch. He looked down and was surprised to see his hand locked with another, pale and feminine. It started to become clearer in the dim light of the dawn, and he could focus on the things around him. The feminine hand was of someone who was sleeping beside him. He shook his head to clear his sight and looked again. 

Galadriel?!  He couldn't stop a sigh of surprise. 

Galadriel stood up with an exclamation, looking at him with wide open eyes and disheveled hair on her face. She realized she was still grabbing Adar's hand and immediately withdrew it with a slight blush on her cheeks that he didn't notice. Belanor jumped up with a shout, grasping the knife. After a few minutes of complete chaos, they fell silent and looked at each other with caution. Adar's eyes were flaming. If it was possible, his gaze would have burned Galadriel and Belanor alive. 

The Uruk was the first to start talking: "What. Happened". It was not a question; it was an order from the Commander of the Uruks. His heavy, hoarse words seemed to float in the early morning breeze and temporarily muted the birds that were starting to chirp at the first sun rays from the east. Galadriel approached him, kindly saying "Adar..." but stopped when she saw the surprised look in the Uruk's eyes. "Don't you remember what you told me in the clearing?" she asked with a trembling voice. A little hint of confusion flickered on Adar's face, but he quickly hid it. 

He couldn't remember. 

This thought made Galadriel's heart sink in despair. She tried not to panic and hid the hand with Nenya behind her back while saying "We saved you from death. We transported you here on horseback, and cleaned and bound your wounds". Adar looked down to his chest and noticed the strips made of Elven mantle. 

"Why" he said. Again, it was not a question. 

"You told me that you and I have the same goal, which is destroying Sauron. That's true, and I accepted your offer, but you betrayed it because you knew I couldn't ensure safety for your children. Now the situation is different. Sauron has Morgoth's Crown and the army you were so foolish to bring him".

Adar stared at her with a sharp look "Pay attention to the words you use, Elf". Galadriel swallowed. He seemed to have turned to his old self, and it was such an unsettling feeling after seeing him like she had the day before. "I think now that you do not have Morgoth's Crown and your children anymore, you might be interested in a more balanced alliance between you and the Elves" she continued, trying to hide the panic in her voice. "Interesting" Adar said.

Belanor was the most confused of the group, staring at them with no clue of what was happening. He couldn't understand why Galadriel had saved the Commander of the Orcs if this was the result. She seemed to act like he was redeemed, but horrendous and ruthless beasts like that couldn't change, Belanor was certain of it. He looked at the corrupted Uruk with revulsion; Adar had no weapons with him, and he seemed weak from the wounds, but he still looked very dangerous. The Elf nervously played with the knife in his hand.

"Our plan is to bring you to the Elven camp" Galadriel said "Your wounds are deadly, and you won't survive unless they are treated with the Elven medicine. I promise I will do my best to manage an encounter between you and Gil-Galad, and maybe we can find a way to defeat Sauron together".

"And you think the Elves will heal me?" Adar's lips arched sarcastically. "Yes" she nodded. "Why?" he asked again. Galadriel forgot all prudence and placed her hand on his arm "Because you are an Elf". 

This shocked the Uruk more than everything else she had said before, but he didn't move away from her touch. "And what if I say that owing a debt of gratitude with Gil-Galad or, worse, with Elrond, is the worst possible thing I can think of?" he asked, piercing her with flaming eyes. 

"Then we will leave you here, where you'll certainly die" Galadriel responded firmly, pointing to the blood stains that were starting to form on the strips as a result of all the movement he had made.

Adar seemed to ponder the possibility. He had no fear of death; he had been ready to die for his children in Eregion. But now everything had gone wrong, very differently from what he had planned. His task to save his children was not accomplished; they were slaves of Sauron once more, after he had promised them that this wouldn't happen again. He nodded "I accept your offer, Elf. But if it is a trap, you are going to regret it" his face was back to his usual unintelligible, hard expression. His scars were even more noticeable on the skin, paler for the blood loss "And just to be clear, I'm not your prisoner" he added.

"You're free to leave us whenever you want" Galadriel responded "But promise me you won't harm any Elf, and that you won't be a threat to us. I think you already had your fair dose of Elven blood in the past days". It was difficult to come back to those skirmishes after what had happened the day before, but if he was reverting to aggression, she wouldn't be any less so, than him. If she showed herself to be too passive, she feared that Adar had enough confidence and experience to easily overtake the situation, even badly wounded as he was, and she couldn't allow it.

The Uruk looked at her with a flash of anger, surprised by her boldness, but she didn't lower her gaze. After a minute, Adar nodded, accepting her terms. "And now, who is this" Adar asked, pointing at Belanor, who looked back at him with a glimpse of terror in his eyes. Galadriel responded "He is Belanor, and he is going to guide us to the Elven camp. We have to hurry; we are not safe here anymore". She thought it was better not to mention that Belanor was a blacksmith of Celebrimbor, as the Uruk seemed distracted from the matter of the rings at the moment. She carefully removed Nenya from her finger and placed it under her armor. 

Finally, Adar laboriously stood up, refusing any help from Galadriel. They greedily drank fresh water from the stream and ate some edible fruits that Galadriel plucked from the trees nearby. They consumed the frugal breakfast in complete silence, gazing at each other with suspicion, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Then, they approached the horse that stared at them with a worried look in his tender eyes; he wasn't going to make another ride with all three of them on his back again. Galadriel even tried to whisper encouraging Elvish words to him, but the animal refused to let them mount together. 

"Belanor, the Elven camp is very far from here?" Galadriel asked "No, Lady Galadriel. I can walk; the sleep tonight has restored me" he responded, glad not to have to share the ride with the Uruk, and started to move north. Galadriel took the horse's reins, while Adar slowly and painfully sat behind her. After a few minutes, he realized he didn't have the strength to stand straight and cautiously grabbed Galadriel's waist. The Elf felt his surprisingly respectful touch but remained impassive, while the rising sun started to light them with its warm yellow rays.