The Girl and the Orc - (A Middle Earth Story)

An Unlikely Alliance

    I sat with my back against a boulder, my legs swinging over the edge of a cliff.  The wind blew my hair gently around my face. I was hungry, but I wasn't about to have anything to eat again until nightfall. You see, when the Orcs attacked my village, my family were all taken as slaves to work in the mines of Mordor. I had managed to escape, and now I was searching for my family. I had snuck into Mordor a few months ago, disguised as an Orc, and then made my way to the cliffs where I would hide until night. It wasn't safe to do my sneaking around the Uruk camps until nightfall, and usually after the sun went down the dumb lesser Orcs would get drunk and fall asleep on watch. That was when I could go into the camps and look for my family, and steal supplies and food as well. I had been doing pretty good so far, for a daughter of a lowly farmer. Tonight, however, that was about to change.

   When it was nightfall I got up from my sitting position and slunk in the dark. I had to be careful, as some orcs would come goof off around the cliffs. I was usually good at this though. What I was worried about was that I was unusually clumsy. I could very easily get caught if I wasn't careful. And this night, I wasn't.
   My heart raced as I raced along the edge of the cliff and into the Uruk camp. If I was lucky, the commanding Uruks would be just as drunk as the other Orcs. Lurking in the shadows, I scanned my surroundings. The make-shift camp was built up to look like a short of small village, the tents that surrounded the camp were where the lesser orcs and slaves slept. In the nicer log buildings housed the higher up orcs and the Uruk. I made my way around the outside of the camp to where I knew the slaves slept. Doing my best not to be seen, I laid in the grass next to one of the slave tents, peaking my head under the bottom of the tent. I could see the slaves, some were sleeping. Some were wide awake, but none made a sound. I caught the eyes of one little girl, about 10, her eyes grew wide when she saw me. My heart stopped, it was my little sister, Aray.

She opened her mouth to say something but I put my finger to my lips to tell her to stay quiet. I'll get you out of here, I mouthed. Aray nodded her head and shut her mouth, giving me a small smile. Crawling away from tent I sat up on my knees, wondering what to do. I noticed a table just to my left, an orc was sheepishly picking at his food. If I could just knock that orc out, and get his food and clothes and helmet, I could disguise myself as him and sneak my sister out. Then we would have food as I knew she would be starving, since they fed their slaves just enough to keep from dying. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants, taking a large rock that was next to me in the palm of my hand. I snuck around to the orc, preparing to knock him out. However, just as I snuck up behind him I tripped on a lone stick and fell forward, my face smashing into his back.
   I was screwed.
   The Orc, of course, spun around quickly and grabbed me by the hair, pinning me onto the table.
   "What the..." he started. I supposed he thought I was just another orc goofing off, and his eyes grew wide when he noticed I was human. I figured he would kill me on the spot, however, he turned my head to face him. Thats when I noticed by the white hand symbol on his shoulder. He wasn't just a regular Orc, he was an Uruk. I couldn't see the rest of him very well, since it was so dark.
   I was so screwed.
   "You're... you're a girl."
    I pressed my lips together, "Yeah, and you're an Uruk."
    He growled, "What are you doing out here, Slave?"
    I grinned, "I'm not a slave. I live here."
    "Not likely," he scoffed.
   "It's true, I've been living out here for months."
    The Uruk raised an eyebrow, "What is your name?"
    "Rain."
    "What are you doing here?"
    I wiggled under his grasp, my head hurt from him pulling on my hair, "I got hungry."
   He seemed to frown, "So you steal our food?"
    I gestured my head over to one of the nearby makeshift buildings, the one where the orcs stored their food, "The guards are always drunk."
    The Uruk groaned, letting me go to rub his face with his hands, "I'm so gonna kill them."
   "You aren't gonna kill me?"
   He lifted his face, "Can you read?"
    "Yeah?"
    "I have a map, I don't know where it goes. If you help me, I promise not to kill you." What a sudden proposition.
      I scrunched up my nose in thought, "Alright," I spat on my hand and held it out to him, "Deal."
     A confused look briefly washed over the Uruk's face, then he smirked. He spat in his hand and held it out. I then slapped my hand in his and shook it.
    When we let go of each other's hands the Uruk grabbed his helmet off of the table, shoving it onto my head,  "Okay, someone is coming. Lean on me and act like you're drunk."
   "What?"
   "Just do it!"
   I obeyed, leaning on the Uruk's side, my arm around his shoulder. His arm was around my waist. Another Uruk was coming up to us, I lowered my head so he wouldn't see my eyes.
    "Hey, Bogwater!" cried the new Uruk, "Boss Man wants us to train the new orcs tomorrow."
   "Your name is Bogwater?" I whispered to my new comrade.
    "Yes, now shut up," he hissed back.
    Bogwater looked up and smiled at the other Uruk, "Alright."
    The Uruk nodded over in my direction, "Want me to take the drunk off your hands so you can rest some? You have been acting strange lately, I think you're sick."
    "I've got her... I mean him. I'm just gonna take him back to his tent."
    He raised an eyebrow at Bogwater, "Alright, see you tomorrow then." And with that he left.
    Bogwater gave a sigh of relief, "That was close."
     I furrowed my brows as he continued to lead me through the camp, my arms were still wrapped around him, and I walked with a limp to act as if I was drunk, "Where are we going now?"
    "To my shack."
    "You have your own shack?"
    He nodded, "All the captains have their own shacks."
     When we reached his shack, he pushed me into it and locked the door behind him. I stood in the middle of the sand floor, the helmet still on my head, as Bogwater began to look through a small chest in a corner.
     "What are you doing?" I asked.
      "Shut up." He snapped.
       I frowned.
     A minute later he pulled out a dirty old blanket and a rolled up piece of paper. Bogwater approached me with the items and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, taking the helmet off my head. I realized that I was a lot shorter than him, and skinnier.
    "What are you doing?" I asked again.
    "Sit down," he pointed at the sand floor.
     I obeyed. He then began to rummage through a small cabinet, pulling out a small cake-like food. He also grabbed a small key object. Bogwater then sat next to me on the floor, handing me the cake.
    "What are you doing?" I asked for a third time as I took a bite out of the food.
    "I need you alive if you're going to take me to all the way to Rivendell."
     I choked on the cake, "What?!"  I didn't remember agreeing to that.
    The Uruk spread out the piece of paper in front of me, it was a map, "Can you read this?"
     "Yeah."
     "Where does it lead?"
    I blinked, "You can't read?"
    "No!" He snapped. I jumped away from him.
     Bogwater eyes grew wide, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
     I slowly crawled back to him, ignoring what just happened, "It, uh, goes straight to Rivendell. Just like you said."
    "Can you take me there?"
     I studied the Uruk's face, I noticed that he was paler than most orcs and Uruk. Like an albino. "Why would you want to go there?"
    The Uruk handed me the small key, "A creature told me to open a door to something. He gave me this map and this key."
    I took the key out of his hand, our fingers touching, "For what?"
    "He said there's magic there. He said it would make me human."
    I looked at him, "Why do you want to be human?"
    The Uruk turned his eyes away from mine, "I'm tired of killing people."
    I studied the key in my hand, sighing, "Okay, I'll take you."
    Bogwater turned back to me, a big grin on his face. I'd never seen an orc grin before.  "Really?"
    I nodded.
    The Uruk grabbed my hands in excitement, "Thank you! Thank you!"
   I laughed, "Don't thank me yet, we have to get out of here first."
    "We should go now, they will be looking for me tomorrow."
    "We have to at least get to the mountains tonight. My cave will be safe until we can leave tomorrow night." I added.
    Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the shack. Bogwater looked at me with wide eyes, "What do we do?"
    "Hey, Bogwater, open up!"
    "Just a minute!" cried Bogwater.
     I looked around the room, my eyes landed on the small cabinet were Bogwater got the key and the cake from. I looked down at my thin body, I could fit. I hurried over to the cabinet and shoved my body awkwardly inside, "Shut the door, quick!"
    Bogwater quickly realized what I was doing and shut the door to the cabinet before getting up and opening the door to the shack.
    "Hey," greeted Bogwater awkwardly.
    "We need you down at the field. We're getting rid of some slaves."
     "Uh, okay, I'll be down in a second, let me get my sword."
     "Alright, see you soon."
     Bogwater shut the door and ran over to the cabinet where I was hiding, he pulled me out and picked me up over his shoulder.
     "Hey, HEY! Woah! What are you doing?"
     "Making a run for it. Everyone will be down at the field. We have a clear shot right for the mountains."
     "I can run."
     Bogwater grabbed his helmet and shoved it back on my head, then he grabbed his sword that was propped up against the wall.
     "Why do I need a helmet?" I demanded.
      "I can't have you getting killed when you are the one who knows how to read."
      He opened the door and ran out into the camp. Bogwater ran straight for the mountains as planned. We were almost out of the camp, when we passed by the field were they were 'getting rid' of some slaves. I noticed my sister among the group.
    "Stop!" I yelled.
    Bogwater stopped and dropped me down in some bushes where he crouched down next to me, "What is the matter? Where we seen?"
    "No," I pointed in the direction of the field, "That-that's my sister!"
    Bogwater looked in the direction I was pointing, "Oh no."
    We could hear one of the orcs yell to another one, "We can't wait all night for Bogwater!"
     "He's right," cried another orc, "Let's get this over with so we can go to bed!"
     "Alright alright!" snapped one of the Uruk's, "On my word, draw your swords."
    I began to stand up to run out to my sister but Bogwater pulled me down, "We can't do anything." 
    "Okay, swords drawn," yelled the Uruk as the others drew their swords, "Approach your assigned slave."
     I felt sick to my stomach as an orc stood behind my sister.
     Bogwater forced my face into his chest, "Don't look."
     "Now!" Yelled the Uruk.
     I heard the screams of the slaves as the orcs stabbed them. I screamed as well.
      In a minute it was over, and the Orcs were leaving the field.
      Tears rolled down my face and left wet spots on Bogwater's bare chest. He held me and patted my back awkwardly, not knowing how to comfort a human girl.
      We were rudely interrupted by a loud coughing sound. We both looked up to the source of the noise. A strange, bony creature hunched over on all fours was watching us. I held tightly on to Bogwater's arm, "Wha-what is that thing?"
    "That's the creature who gave me the map."
    "We has a name!" snapped the creature, has he coughed again. It had a strange cough, it sounded like he was saying "gollum."
    "What is it?" asked Bogwater.
     "We don'ts remember," fibbed the creature as he started crawling towards the mountains, "Well, come on! You want to go to Rivendell don'ts you?"
    "Can't you see that this girl has lost someone she loved?" snapped Bogwater. I was surprised that an Uruk could show sympathy.
    "Does she wants to be next?"
    I sniffed, frowning at the creature's rudeness. Bogwater picked me up, once again carrying me over his shoulder.
   "I-I can walk," I objected through sobs. 
     Bogwater didn't say anything, but he followed the creature up the hill, towards the mountains.
     The creature started singing a strange song as we made our way up one of the mountains.
    "Soon we will have my precious,
         And then we will eat a fishes.
       We'll bash his brains in while he's squirms
      And then we'll eat some worms!"

     I tilted my head so I could whisper to Bogwater, "Are you sure he can be trusted?"
    "He's the only hope of being normal that I have."
    I sighed, wiping some fresh tears out of my eyes. I, for one, didn't trust the strange, devilish creature. He looked uglier than an Orc.
    At one point I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up it was daylight. We were in a strange looking cave. Bogwater's arms were around me, and he was wide awake.
    "Mornin'." He said, tiredly. Dark circles swept under his eyes.
    "Didn't you sleep?"
    He shook his head, "I was watching the creature. He was staring at you oddly. But he's asleep now."
     I looked around, sure enough, there was the odd creature laying on the ground in front of us, fast asleep.
    "Sooo, you don't trust him?"
    "Not with you."
    I frowned, "Did he say something to make you think that?"
    "He keeps talking about a precious and then looks at you."
    I laughed, "Yuck."
    Bogwater gave a small smile, before frowning again, "I'm, I'm really sorry about your sister."
    My chest grew tight, I almost forgot about that. Fresh tears stun my eyes, "It's okay. It's not your fault."
     He sighed, "I could have done something."
      "No you couldn't. They would have killed you too."
      "We're staaaaarving!"
      The creature shouted out, suddenly jumping up out of his sleep. We both jumped as well.
      "We don't have any food," snapped Bogwater.
     The ugly thing cried out again, "We're staaaarving!"
      I stood up, wiping the dirt off my pants, "We should get moving."
       "But we're starving!"
       I looked at the creature with narrow eyes, "What exactly are you anyway?"
      "Starving." Was his answer before he ran out of the cave.      
      "Not what I meant, but okay," I shrugged awkwardly.
       Bogwater stood up next to me, "Should we follow him?"
       I looked up at him. We both shook our heads at each other before saying in union, "Nah."
      Bogwater picked up his sword and helmet, "You're right, we should go."
     I nodded, studying the Uruk. With the daylight I could see his face better. He was odd looking, for an orc. His pale face had a scar running down it. His eyes were an odd reddish color. My eyes traveled down his bare chest. Pale, just like his face. Even his pointed ears were pale.
    Bogwater gave me a look, "What are you staring at?"
      "Are you an albino?" I asked.
     The Uruk shrugged, "No idea."
       He fitted his helmet on my head. "I don't need a helmet," I argued.
      "Yes, you do."
      I frowned, it was no use arguing with him.
      "Stop frowning, it ruins your face." Bogwater teased.
      I stuck my tongue out at him.
      The creature came running back into the cave, screaming.
      "What's the matter?" Asked Bogwater.
      "Hide! Hide!" He screamed running towards us.
      Bogwater and I exchanged concerned looks. The creature grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the cave, where he shoved me down onto the ground behind a large rock. He laid on top of my back, whimpering with fear.
     Bogwater came running up behind the rock. He grimaced at the sight of the creature on top of me. The Uruk shoved him off, "Get off of her!"
      "You don't understand!" cried the creature, "They are after her!"
      "Hey, woah, what?!?" I cried.
     Bogwater suddenly fell down on his knees and laid on top of me as the creature did.
     "God, you're heavy," I gasped.
      "Shh!" Hissed the Uruk.
      We suddenly felt a cold breeze, and a burning sensation went all through me. I couldn't see what was going on with Bogwater on top of my back. A ringing sound suddenly went through the cave, piercing my ears. I tried not to scream with pain.
    In a minute it was over, and Bogwater sat up and pulled me up off the ground.
    "What was that?" I asked, voice shaking. My ears still hurt from the ringing noise.
     "I don't know. It was in a black hood, I couldn't see it's face."
     "It doesn't have a face," the creature cried, "Its a spy for the Great Eye!"
      My stomach lurched, "What do they want with me?"
      The creature slunk towards me, "The Eye must knows you are here, he must have seen you turn his soldier against him."
      Bogwater frowned, "So? He has plenty more."
      "But you don'ts understand!" cried the creature, "He's angry. He made you. You are one of the strongest Uruk's he's made. He needses you."
     "We have to get out of Mordor." I said.
      "Follow us!" Yelled the creature, "Creature knows a way!"
     I raised an eyebrow as he crawled out of the cave, "Is that his name now?"
     Bogwater shrugged, "I don't know, should we follow him?"
     I shrugged in return, "We haven't got much of a choice."
    "Can you walk?"
    I rolled my eyes, "Of course I can walk!"
    The creature poked his head back into the cave, "Well, come on! We haven't gots all day!"
     I gave Bogwater a shrug and followed the creature out of the cave.