Bard of Laketown

Part Thirty-Three

HEY EVERYONE!! I'VE DECIDED TO BE A PAIN IN THE BUTT AND NOT HAVE BARD'S POV FOR A WHILE, JUST SO IT'S A BIT MORE MYSTERIOUS!!! SORRY 😝 -Natasha

PART THIRTY-THREE

My breath catches in my throat as the stranger stands up and turns to me. "Who are you?" I whisper, my voice remaining steady despite my racing heart.

A smirk crosses his face. "So the Bargeman has gone missing?" he says in a lazy tone. I know his voice, but I have never seen him before in my life. My hands clench into fists, and the nails draw blood from my palm.

"I hadn't heard anything about this, She-elf. But it's for the best, ain't it? Even he knows- he's done nothing to help this town. His grandfather is the reason our town is in ruins."

His eyes are so dark they are almost black, and his hair is plastered to his head in greasy strands. He stands with a hunched back.

"I know your voice," I say, gritting my teeth. "You were here, weren't you? The first time Bard brought me to his house..."

He smirks. "The first time? Is the Bargeman taking beautiful women into his home now? His bed? I knew you weren't his sister. " He leers at me, and I choke at his disgusting breath.

"Tell me where he is, you Orc-filth!" I say in a steely tone.

"Sorry, elf. But you've committed crimes in this town. Unpardonable crimes." He pulls out some matted twine from his black coat and knots it tightly around my wrists. I wince.

"Elves really aren't the majestic, courageous people that they are in the tales, are they?" His breath whistles in my ear. I shut my eyes tightly. Why in Middle-Earth did I come alone? Fili and Kili will not know where I am.

"Alfrid." I say, the name coming to me.

He smiles. "Ah, so you've remembered? Good, good. It won't help you much, I'm afraid." He pushes and shoves me to the Master's house. "Get inside."

I smirk. "What, is he not rich enough to afford a proper prison?" I am already walking on dangerous ground, but I say it anyways.

"Keep your mouth shut! We do not normally have scum like you in Lake-town at all!"

"I could have sworn the two residents of this house-" I break off, shaking my head and smirking. It is high time I let my darker side out.

Alfrid hits me hard in the face, and I gasp, my head reeling. "That'll teach you to keep your bloody mouth shut!"

"Utinu en lokirim!" I spit in his face, noticing drops of blood in my saliva.

He does not ask what it means, and I do not mean to tell him.

We go up a flight of polished wooden stairs and come to an open door.

"I've found the She-elf, sire." Alfrid's voice suddenly transforms him into a snivelling, nasally servant. All hints of his cruel demeanour are gone.

The fat, pompous man with the waxed moustache and long, stringy hair whom I saw speaking to the dwarves, stands up from a large velvet chair and walks toward us.

I grimace at the smell. Has nobody in this bloody town even heard of cleanliness? I am sure I don't smell too good myself, but at least I have a good washing more often than not.

The Master leans close, pinching my cheeks and examining my face. "You're a pretty one, for sure," he wheezes out.

I glare daggers at him. "I can't say the same for either of you."

He laughs, not the pleasing sound that laughs are meant to be.

"Shall I take her to the dungeon, sire?" Alfrid is skulking around in the room, fetching a mug of what smells like ale. He brings it to the master, who drinks it down in one long gulp.

When he is finished, he waves his oily hand. "Take her away." He leans closer to me. "We are not done, she-elf. There are questions which must be answered."

"Amin feuya ten'lle," I say in a venomous tone.

He laugh-wheezes again, then turns back to his chair.

Where in Middle-Earth is Bard?

TRANSLATIONS

Utinu en lokirim- Son of snakes

Amin feuya ten'lle- You disgust me