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Journey Of A Butterfly	By : Mel99Moe Category: -Fourth Age to Modern times and beyond > Het - Male/Female Views: 5714 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places of Lord of the Rings/Tolkien. No money is being made. This is for personal enjoyment only.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter 5 - Escape

Terrwyn was trapped. The stable door was latched in a way that she could not open it before the men were upon her. They had her sword, the elvish dagger, and the pouch of jewels. All she had was the throwing knife strapped to her thigh, but there was no way of retrieving it now. The tall man and the fat man held her fast by her arms and the muscled leader’s hands were roaming over her. Though many pairs of eyes had scanned her body as this heathen’s hands did now, she had never been in this dangerous of a situation before. Alric showed her many tricks to prevent such circumstances and how to get out of them. She thought she knew what to do, but her fear paralyzed her and she could hardly remember anything now. All she could think of was to scream. Maybe someone walking by outside would hear. The stables were far from the rest of the village though. Still, Terrwyn’s mind was racing, and she screamed as loudly as she could.

Instantly, the two men holding her arms tightened their grip and pulled up, twisting her arms so that the pain was unbearable. The muscled man covered her mouth and nose with his filthy hand. “Shut up, girl! No one can hear your cries anyways. Do that again and I’ll skewer you with your own sword.” As he said this, he brought up her weapon that had gone missing.

Terrwyn felt as though she would suffocate. His hungry eyes were upon her now. She had to do something to silence her fear and her mental screaming. If she did not, these men would surely have their way with her.

“Those Southrons missed out on quite a good piece when they failed to capture you,” the leader breathed into her ear.

Suddenly, she remembered what he had said earlier about being responsible for the capture of her brother and the death of her mother. It was probably because of this scum that her father perished too. This was enough to transfer Terrwyn’s fear into anger. With her mouth still covered by his hand, she could only speak with her eyes, which turned into slits as she glared at the lead man. Her body seemed to relax a bit, as well as her breathing. The man took notice and smiled a sickly grin. “Looks as if I touched on a sore subject. That’s it my pretty little whore. You are so much more alluring when you are angry. Bet you will be quite delicious too.”

An idea came to Terrwyn. She could not struggle free of her captors, but she could possibly negotiate with them, at least long enough to throw them off their guard. She tried to speak, and finally the leader removed his hand. Terrwyn took in a deep breath of air now that she could breathe freely. She calmed her nerves and got ready to put on the show of her young life. She may have only been nineteen, but she had to play the part of someone older and more experienced. Hopefully, they would fall for it.

“Alright, alright. So, you have found me out. I’ll tell you the truth now,” she said as if to admit defeat.

The three men could feel her relaxed state. The leader looked to the other two and gestured for them to let go, which they did. Terrwyn rubbed her arms and wrists trying to get the feeling back into them after being held behind her back for so long.

“Go on then. What do you know?” the leader said.
“I knew about the jewels. I wanted them for myself. They are worth a small fortune as you say. I was just waiting for Alric to die so I could take them and get far away from this retched city. I could easily live as a noble in Gondor if I so choose. I will make a deal with you. I’ll give you half the prize. Even half will do me some good,” she said in her most calm voice. She hoped she was convincing enough.

“Half is not enough,” demanded the muscled man.

“You are a business man and a smooth talker. I’m sure you can finagle a piece of land out of the Southrons with half as much, if these jewels are worth as much as you say they are,” she argued.

The well-groomed leader stood silent for a moment, considering her offer. As he did, he noticed her eyes dart to her sword then back to him. She smiled, but the man did not fall for charms. “Do you take me for a fool? I see what you are up to.” He grabbed her by the waist just then, catching her off guard. Terrwyn gasped at his unexpected lurching. The man pushed her up against the wall of one of the stalls and brought his lips right up to hers. “I don’t believe a word you say, whore. I am done playing games. First, I’m going to have my way with you. If the other two want you, they can be next. Then you are coming with us. We’ll need something sweet for our journey and I think you will do just fine.”

His mouth plunged onto her and he forced is rotten tongue into her mouth. Terrwyn almost gaged from the feeling of his slimy tongue and the smell of liquor. One hand roughly squeezed her breast as the other roamed further down to her private region. Fear and anger mixed in her mind and she was determined not to become paralyzed again. He removed his tongue from her mouth and tried to kiss her once more, but Terrwyn bit down hard on his bottom lip. She could taste his blood as it oozed into her mouth.

The man yelled when she latched onto his lip. She would not let go so he slapped her across the face. The sting of the slap was enough to make Terrwyn release him from her hold. She almost lost consciousness and fell to her knees. The leader touched his hand to his lip and when he saw the blood, he became very angry.

“You dirty little bitch! You rotten whore, you bit me!” he yelled. He looked to the other two men. “Get her! She must be taught a lesson.”

Terrwyn was still dizzy from the slap as the tall man and the fat man once again captured her by the arms. The leader began undoing his breeches. “I’m done with this. I’m going to give you something you’ll never forget.” He approached her and the other men started to push her to the ground. They were prepared to hold her down while the leader raped her, but Terrwyn was too angry to let this happen.

Then, as if time stopped, she envisioned the dark-haired elf from her childhood. His smile and his words came back to her. Never had anyone had such confidence in her as he did in their brief meeting. She thought about his reference to the butterfly and how she would one day be transformed.

Time sped back up and the man was almost upon her. “I’ll be damned if anyone is going to take anything away from me,” she said in a low growl. She lifted her booted foot and kicked the tall man in the shin, making him release her as he yelled in pain. The fat man tried to get a better hold on her and brought his hand up. He brought it up a little too far and Terrwyn bit him hard leaving deep teeth marks and drawing blood, again filling her mouth with the metallic taste. The fat man released her too.

The muscled man lunged for her and she spit the blood in his face, temporarily blinding him. This gave her just enough time to make a dash for her elvish dagger lying on a hay bale. As she rushed towards it, someone grabbed her ankle, pulling her to the ground. The lead man held her fast. Terrwyn kicked him until he released her. By now, the tall man regained himself and grabbed her sword, which was lying on another hay bale next to where he stood. He was about to give it to the leader. Terrwyn’s quick thinking made sure that would not happen. While still lying on the ground, she reached for the throwing knife strapped to her thigh and launched it at the tall man. The blade embedded itself in his upper arm and he immediately dropped the sword. The fat man was still holding his hand that she bit, nearly tearing a big chunk from it. Seeing another chance, she crawled to the elvish dagger and barely grabbed it when the leader jumped on her.

“That’s it. You are more trouble than you are worth and you know too much. Now you die,” he said reaching for her throat to strangle her.

Terrwyn dropped the dagger and started clawing at his long dirty fingers that squeezed her neck. She could not breathe. She tried gasping for air, but the man was choking the very life from her. Everything around her began to spin. Stars were flashing behind her eyes. If she didn’t do something now, she would die for sure.

With one hand, she released his arm and blindly searched the ground around her for the dagger. Then suddenly her fingers felt something familiar. It was almost out of her reach, but she stretched with all her might and finally got hold of the wooden handle of the weapon. The only thing she could think to do was stab him in the neck. Terrwyn focused what strength she had left on her arm. With full force, she brought the blade up, burying it in the muscled man’s neck. Instantly, he released his death grip on her, and she could once again breathe. Terrwyn gasped, her windpipe seemingly crushed, but she got enough air into her lungs to keep from fainting. At the same time, the lead man rolled off her, clutching at the dagger in the side of his neck. She could see blood pouring out of the wound as he made a gurgling noise. His eyes rolled up into his head so that only the whites were showing. Soon after, he made no other move and lay still on the stable floor.

The other two men looked to their partner with surprised faces, seeming to forget about their own injuries. They could see he was not breathing, lying in a pool of blood.

“You bitch! You killed him!” the tall man said in anger.

Terrwyn could not answer. Her throat was raw and scratched. Her weapons were spent and these two looked enraged. If they came after her now, she would have no strength left to fend them off. They took a couple steps towards her when suddenly the front door of the stable started to move violently. Someone had come at last. Terrwyn tried to yell for help but she had no voice but for a whisper. While the remaining two men looked at each other fearfully, Terrwyn managed to get up, stumble to the door, and unlatch it. The door swung open just as she started to collapse to the ground again. A pair of very strong and comforting arms caught her before she touched the ground. She looked up and saw Taldred holding her.

“Help . . . me!” she croaked out and then she lost consciousness.

* * *

When Terrwyn awoke, she was in the healing rooms in Edoras, and sitting next to her was Taldred. She tried to sit up but was dizzy.

“You must stay in bed,” he told her in a soft sweet voice.

“What . . . where are they?” she managed to whisper, as it seemed she could not speak.

“They are being tended to in another room,” Taldred answered her. He picked up a wet cloth and gently wiped her forehead. “Terrwyn, can you tell me what happened?”

“They attacked me, tried to rape me,” she said in a raspy dry voice.

“Just tell me one more thing,” Taldred said in a serious tone. “Is it true you were in possession of the stolen jewels?”

Terrwyn felt her heart jump to her throat. There was only one way he could have known about this. The other two men were trying to set her up. She would not lie though, not to Taldred. Tears instantly filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. With no voice left to speak, Terrwyn merely nodded.

“Oh, Terrwyn,” Taldred said quietly and disappointment filled his face.

“I . . . I did not know. They were a gift . . . from Alric before he died,” she pleaded, but Taldred looked unconvinced. “What are they saying about me?”

Taldred sat unmoving for a moment as if he was still letting it all sink in. He sighed and answered her. “They said they found out that you were the one who stole the jewels and that you were running away. They said they were just trying to stop you.”

“No! It’s not true. Well yes, it’s true that I had the jewels, but I did not know of their history until these men told me they belonged to one of the noble families.” Terrwyn started to cry. It seemed nothing she could say would make her look innocent. “I was so scared they were going to kill me. They might have if I did not protect myself.” She paused a moment then touched Taldred’s arm. “You have to believe me. I truly did not know.”

Taldred got up from his chair and paced the room. He seemed to be in deep thought. Terrwyn watched him from her bed. She could see something was bothering him. “Taldred?” she asked, concerned.

“There is something you do not know about these jewels,” he said from across the room. "Tell me, did you know the man you . . .,” he paused. “. . . the deceased man?”

“No, I did not even know his name,” she answered worriedly.

“These jewels belonged to his family. Terrwyn, the jewels belonged to the father of the man you killed.”

This information slowly sunk in as Terrwyn lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. “He stole from his own father. But why would he do this?” Suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. She gasped. “They are saying I stole the jewels and laying all the blame on me to keep from confessing their own guilt.” Now she realized just how bad this all looked.

“They are the only witnesses to the crime. Terrwyn, this looks bad even if what you say is true. They say you admitted to taking them.”

Terrwyn shook her head as she wracked her brain. “No, no, no! I said those things only to get them to let me go.” She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “What does this mean, Taldred? What will happen to me?”

Taldred came to her and sat next on the edge of the bed. “It means when you are well enough, you will be moved to the cells until a trial can be held. You murdered someone and not just anyone, but the son of the burglary victim.”

“I did it in self-defense,” she cried. “He was on top of me. He was pulling at my clothes. The other two were holding me. I was surely about to be raped, Taldred. Please, you have to believe me. Someone must hear me out. I did not take anything but for what Alric gave me when he died. I swear, he never told me to whom these jewels belonged. Please, you have to do something.”

Taldred looked away from her. “I must uphold the law. A man is dead who was found with your knife in his neck. There is nothing I can do. You must face trial and hope your story is believed.”

Terrwyn was in shock. She had been set up and nothing she could say or do looked like it would be in her favor. She lay back down on her bed and turned her back to Taldred. “Leave me. I want to be alone,” she whispered in a choked voice.

Taldred touched her shoulder lightly. “I am sorry, Terrwyn.” With that, he left the room.

* * *

Terrwyn spent two more days in the healing rooms. Today the guards would come to take her to the prison cells. As she sat on her bed, she wondered how her life came to this. What possibly went wrong in her young life that she deserved this? She had lost both of her parents and her brother was either missing or possibly even dead. She cared for herself at too young of an age until the kindness of a stranger came along. She had always lived by the law. This was a mistake. She was being wrongfully charged for this crime. Her life would have been over had she not defended herself. Just to save their own skin, these two thugs twisted the story in their favor. Terrwyn knew there was no way out of it. No one would believe her story. There were too many details pointing to her. Now all she could pray for was a prison sentence and not a hanging.

The door slowly opened and Terrwyn waited for the guards to take her away. To her surprise, it was Taldred that came to collect her.

“Taldred, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I requested to be the one that brought you to the cells,” he said in a hushed voice. He walked to her, took her hands in his and looked her deep in the eyes. “Terrwyn, I believe you. I do not think you have it in your heart or soul to commit such a crime.”

Terrwyn breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Taldred. At least I know there is one person who believes my story.”

He handed her a bag, shoving it into her arms. “I cannot let them lock you up. I have heard much talk. The family of the deceased wants revenge. They will stop at nothing to see you hanged. The story from the other two men puts the odds in their favor. Terrwyn, I need you to trust me now. I want to help you get as far from Rohan as you can. In this bag is a disguise, men’s clothes. Put them on when I leave. Wait a few minutes and then go get Brannoss.”

Terrwyn shook her head. “Taldred, I cannot--.”

He captured her face in his hands. “Your horse is already saddled and packed with supplies. Now listen! Take the Great West Road towards Gondor. I will be along in a few hours. You should not make this journey alone. It won’t take me long to catch up.”

Terrwyn could not believe he would do this. “I cannot ask you to risk your good name just to help me.”

Taldred smiled. “You did not ask me. I am doing this of my own free will.”

“No, I will not let you do this. What you have done already is enough to get you banished from Edoras. I must go alone. I will not have you endanger your job or your life. Please, Taldred. I beg of you. Do not follow me.”

Taldred could hear the desperation in her voice. There would be no arguing with her. “You are a stubborn woman Lady Terrwyn,” he said with a smile. “Fine then, I will not follow, but please take this.” He took from his neck a black leather cord with a silver horse charm hanging from it. Then he slipped it over her head and turned it so that the charm faced the right direction. “Anytime I felt that I needed some luck, I held this close to my heart. Wear it and think of me.”

Terrwyn touched the side of his face with her delicate fingers. “Thank you, Taldred. I will never forget you.”

Caught up in the moment, Taldred started to lean down, just wanting one kiss from her supple lips. But he stopped himself and instead took her chin in his calloused fingers. “Hurry. I will distract the guards around the doors. No one will recognize you. Now go!” With that, he left the room.

Terrwyn immediately changed into the man’s riding outfit, a pair of leather breeches, brown shirt and a tan swede jerkin, and black boots that were two sized too big. There was also a hat like the one the stable boys wore. She tied her hair up into a bun and put the hat on. She opened the door slightly and saw that the hall was empty. Saying a silent thank you to Taldred, she slipped out and quietly made her way to the stables.

Just as Taldred had said, Brannoss was saddled and ready. There was no time to check what was in the pack. The only two things she hoped she still had were her elvish dagger and the wooden butterfly. They were taken from her when she was brought to the healing house. That was not important now. All she needed to concentrate on was getting out of Edoras without being noticed. She climbed onto Brannoss, gave him a pat and with a click of her tongue, they were off. The sun was just beginning to set and soon the night would help to hide her out on the road. Now all she needed to do was follow the Great West Road, for it would lead her right to Gondor. From there though, she did not know what she would do.
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Journey Of A Butterfly