The Blacksmith

Cursing the evil within him, you gathered yourself and quickly rode after him. Though for some reason, as fast as you pushed your horse, Halbrand could not be caught, and soon vanished from sight. You had been a fool to think that the light would remain victorious within him. The darkness in you was nothing compared to what lay within him after all. He had been lost to it for far too long, in fact most of his existence had been spent this way, a shroud of evil around his spirit. Yet you held fast to your duty, and to him, and rode on as quickly as your steed would allow. You had to reach him before any more lives would be lost at the hands of the dark lord.

Galadriel couldn't help but once again enter your mind. You knew your path to the light was true, and in that moment you recognised that Halbrand was right. She would not see it, not now, not yet. Time needed to pass and wounds needed to heal. And you and Halbrand needed to earn your redemption before you could ever dream of earning her trust once more. Once she had the proof that you and your love could indeed be saved, then everything would fall into place and be right in the world. It was that thought the kept you going and would keep you going until this was over.

After an hour or so of sprinting towards your love, the smell of fire found your nostrils, and sure enough, a flickering light on your horizon revealed itself to be the village set aflame. Halbrand hadn't just gone after those drunkards in the tavern. He claimed the whole township. You could hear the coughing of the people as they scattered about helplessly before you. Some of them were crying in lamentation, in agony. Two women noticed you, and their screams pierced the air as if you were the monster that plagued them. You dismounted your horse to try to help them but they ran from you, hiding behind whatever shelter remained unmarked by the burning.

Fastening your steed to the trunk of a small tree, you wandered on carefully, but with haste, searching desperately for Halbrand. He had been hard to spot in his black cape, yet your eyes finally found him, on the ground hovering over someone, whispering something in to their ear. The last words they'll ever hear. You watched as he flung his head back, the hood falling down, revealing the beautiful hair you adored so. Sensing your eyes on him, he gazed at you intently from over his shoulder, only one eye visible. And it was all you needed to see to know you were too late. Sauron was winning.

He rose to greet you, grinning through his blood stained face. "Oh my love... my love... I'm so glad you're here..." Clasping his hands upon your cheeks, he let his tongue enter your mouth, and as you kissed him, you could taste the dead on his lips. The metallic flavour, the passionate way he was kissing you, the thirst for you he held... the power he held... your head was suddenly swimming into dark waters you would certainly drown in. Catching yourself, you pushed him off of you, causing him to laugh. He uttered your name, his voice wicked. "Come on... you can't resist it... and I know you can't resist me..."
"Halbrand stop! This is enough! I'm here to pull you back, remember? Remember our duty?"

He grabbed a glass bottle and hurled it into one of the engulfed houses, filling the air with the sudden sound of its breaking. Turning to you, he was stunned, and angry. "Our duty? Our duty?!" he picked up and threw another. "You heard how they spoke of me and my duty!"
"Oh yes I heard, and yes I loathed it as much as you, but you can't murder every man that crosses you just because they said something you didn't care for!"
Halbrand cackled maliciously. "That's something coming from you, my queen!"
He was right, you had no standing whatsoever on which to lecture him in the ways of sparing innocent lives. Yet still, you did not give up. "My wrongdoings are in a past I am trying to leave behind... a past that you and I have since decided to fight against. You urged me to see that I was fated to save you, save us. Save Middle-earth. I want to believe in that purpose still, Halbrand. We need to believe it."

As your words were taken by his ears, you saw the expression on his face soften, his heavy breathing slowing. He started to come back to himself, away from Sauron and towards Halbrand. Towards the light. But like all good things it seems, this did not last. For in an instant, there was a skirmish behind him, and you watched stunned as a fire poker pierced his flesh, emerging from just underneath your love's left shoulder. His blood trickled fast down his chest, glistening in the light of the fires he had lit. Crying out in anger and pain, Halbrand dropped to his knees, to reveal the perpetrator who stood shaking behind him.

You ran to your king, tears streaming. Taking his face in your hands, you searched his eyes for a sign that he would be alright. "It's okay," he spoke, wincing. "The wound isn't fatal, my love. It would take... something these men do not possess to destroy me." His words were supposed to be reassuring but, the sight before you was almost too much to bear. You felt the change within you come on before you could stop it. Your eyes darted to the man who had impaled your king, and they were as sharp as the implement he had used. He was a pitiful creature, frozen in fear, the regret of his actions so plain on his snivelling face.

Rising up slowly, you removed your infamous dagger from the sheath attached to your dress. Stepping towards your next victim with deliberate torturous steps, ensuring the man knew what was coming for him. You could feel your rage consuming you, your own darkness brought forth once again. It had to be done, he had to die, the evil within you convincing you this was right. The light of your mother was nowhere to be found, unable to hold you back. And neither was Halbrand it seemed, as you saw him turn to face you, to witness what you were about to do. Locking eyes with him, his black serpent orbs returned, a malevolent grin slowly spreading across his face.

You returned the same expression, turning back to the villager, who had now backed into a stone wall, with nowhere to go. "Do you know why death has come for you?" you asked, toying with him, but the man did not respond, only his tears did the talking. "No man can kill Sauron... your foolishness, your treason shall be rewarded thusly... for thinking you could, for hurting my love... the dark lord..." And as the last word passed your lips, you thrusted the dagger up through his jaw and into his skull, causing the man's eyes to widen as death took his spirit. You smiled at your act of vengeance, pulling the dagger out of his head, and the mans blood and body fell to the ground, never to stand again.

"Oh my queen..." spoke Halbrand, his tone drenched in lust. Turning back to him, your breathing now heavy, the satisfaction on his face was delicious, and desire couldn't help but swell within your body. Suddenly, movement on the edge of your vision caused your head to snap to the right. Witnesses, you thought, they must be dealt with. The two women you had caught cowered in fear as you strode towards them, their screams cutting the night air as you cut through their flesh, silencing them. Looking up, another man was nearby, watching in horror, standing ready with a small plank of wood to defend himself. Yet he did not use it on you, and it shook in his hands before it fell to the ground as you ran your dagger through him.

The air was filled suddenly with laughter from the dark lord himself. It started slowly, an amused chuckle as he watched you work. Yet with each life you took it quickly grew, from an unhinged cackle, to a loud and complete malevolent delirium. You stalked your environment like a predator on a rampage, not wishing to cease until the only life left in this village was you and your king. The power you were feeling was intoxicating, the adrenaline coursing through you was a high you were relishing with each motion you made. Soon you came upon the charred remnants of the tavern and you couldn't help but go inside, wishing to see the devastation before the structure's inevitable collapse.

It was such an incredibly satisfying sight before you. The destruction of the fire was all consuming, the flames working their way through every inch of wood leaving black ash in their wake. Yet in a ironic twist of fate, the table and chairs you had sat at with Halbrand only hours ago remained so far untouched. This made you chuckle. Your brow was soaked in sweat within seconds of entering. The heat was so intense that it felt as if the air itself was on fire, yet you refused to leave until you were content with the justice the dark lord had dealt. Walking through you saw bodies on the floor, recognising some of the men as the ones who had bullied you both when they still had breath in their lungs. Now they would become dust. The abrupt breaking of glass nearby caused your eyes to look elsewhere, and you could hear movement from behind the bar. Suddenly burning beams from the ceiling above fell before you, it wouldn't be long now until the tavern was no more.

Wandering carefully across to the bar, stepping over the debris, you soon found the source of the scurrying: it was the barmaid. A wide grin quickly formed on your face, your eyes lighting up with glee. "Why hello there... I was hoping I might find you here."
"Please, miss, please. Let me go!" she pleaded desperately.
"And why exactly would she do that?" spoke a twisted voice from behind you. Your love had come to witness more of your crimes. Looking over your shoulder, your brief smile at him faded quickly as you noticed the iron that still pierced his body. The bleeding had stopped though, for now. Halbrand moved around behind the bar, helping you to corner the maid who had been so unnecessarily unkind to you both.

"Please..." she was sobbing now, "Please... I have children... a husband... I'm begging you." She was a mother. A mother you wanted to kill. Your mind began to blur with confusion. Mother... what taking the life of one would do to those children... the grief and emotional destruction it would cause, the ripple effect on lives you could not fathom, how one irreversible decision, one evil act, could alter someone's world forever. Oh what you would give to have your mother...

Halbrand snickered, "You think they are still alive?" he asked, mocking her. "You, my dear... you are the last." Tears streamed down her soot covered cheeks, and she coughed through her sobs. You knew she was about to die, and you knew you could prevent it. Halbrand spoke your name, snapping you out of it. "Shall we leave her to the flames, my love?" You looked to him, and the darkness within him reached deep into you, infecting the light that was trying to fight its way back to the surface, and you felt it be subdued, shrinking down until it was barely even a glimmer in your soul. Mother or no, you desired she die.

"I have a better idea, my love." you spoke, evil in your voice. "Fetch me an axe." you ordered the barmaid. When she didn't move, Halbrand bellowed loudly, his whole face shaking with rage. "DO IT!" The barmaid acquiesced reluctantly, and walked trembling into the kitchen to fetch the implement of her demise. Upon her return, you snatched the wooden handle from her grasp, eying off the sharpness of the blade. Another crash echoed out from behind you as more of the ceiling caved in. "If you're the last... doesn't that make you the spare?" you toyed with her. Halbrand answered for her, snickering once again. "I think it does, my love."

"It's time to fill up the trough... the pigs are hungry." you uttered with a smirk. The barmaid screamed, the definition of terror, as you raised the axe before bringing it down to land, slicing deep into her torso, penetrating shoulder to heart. The red liquid of her life cascaded down her such that the colour of her dress was changed. You removed the axe only to strike her swiftly again, removing an arm from her body. You felt her warm blood hit your skin and trickle down your neck. It splashed onto you again with the next blow, its colour lost in your crimson dress. Your eyes darted to Halbrand before you dealt the final strike, and he was in awe, completely spellbound by what you were doing. It was then that you ended the barmaid's torment, and what little life she was clinging to, by taking her head. The sound of her lifeless body hitting the floor was muffled by more debris coming down from above.

You dropped the axe where you stood, hastily taking Halbrand's hand and making for the exit. Once outside you stood and watched in silence as the building eventually crumbled to the ground. After a few moments, your love finally spoke. "I have never wanted to take you so badly as I do right now..." His words aroused you instantly. "But before that... we must remove the poker from me."
"And you will heal?"
"Faster than you would with the same wounds, yes. Though we may have to cauterise them."
"Okay." Positioning yourself to pull the iron rod out of Halbrand, you tried desperately to ignore the wince that passed his lips as you gripped the poker. "Ready?"
He nodded repeatedly, bracing himself for the pain to come. "Be quick now."

Using all your strength, you swiftly dragged the foreign object through Halbrand's flesh, until it was completely free of him. His cry of agony seemed to reach the stars it was so loud. Dropping to his knees again, blood immediately resumed exiting his body, and you wasted no time treating him. Thinking back to your mother's guidance, you seemed to remember enough to help with your current predicament. Although, she had never shown you how to cauterise a wound, only told you, so you prayed you would recall her steps accurately.

Kneeling down before him, you pulled Halbrand's cloak and clothing from him to best access his wounds, sadly this time leaving his trousers untouched. A few feet from you lay a small wooden rod, perhaps once the leg of a stool or chair, one end of it not yet consumed by the fire currently burning from the other. "Brace yourself." you warned him, before quickly taking the burning wood in your hand, and holding the flickering flame to your love’s flesh, sealing first the front, then the back. Halbrand cried out again, though not as loudly this time, and you wondered if that was maybe due to his smithing background, being used to burns, or that he simply had nothing left in him to scream for, the pain becoming too much.

Tossing the instrument aside, you took Halbrand's face in your hands, running your thumbs across his cheeks, the sweat from him soaking your skin. He smiled at you, saying nothing. "We will need to find some athelas to treat this further. The risk of infection is great. But you'll be okay?" you asked him, unsure of your confidence in your treatment.
"I'll be okay."
"Promise me." The misplaced grief you had once felt was still haunting you.
"I promise." he assured, and your name was the last word that passed his lips before they collided with your own. His touch revived the passion you had felt for him earlier, during that moment as he watched you kill the first of many this night. His tongue moved against your own ravenously, such that breathing became scarce, and your lips were left feeling swollen and used after he moved his mouth elsewhere. Now his tongue was on your throat, and he moaned into you as he dragged it slowly over your skin. "She doesn't taste as good as you, my love..." he hummed into your ear before sucking on your lobe. You had forgotten you were covered in the blood of the barmaid.

"Are you sure?" you breathed, encouraging him, "Why don't you remind yourself...?"
Halbrand moaned deliciously, snickering, before you felt his teeth graze your neck, piercing the skin just enough to draw a little blood. The way he sighed as he tasted you... you could barely hold yourself up, so you took a fistful of his hair, clinging to him, whilst the rest of you went limp. The gasps that escaped you were quickly muffled by his mouth upon yours once more, and the taste of you, confirmation of the deed, caused your adrenaline to surge.

"I want you inside me," you blurted out between kisses, "Now." Halbrand wasted no time obliging you, pulling down his trousers, freeing his hard length but not you of your dress. He was going to leave it on you. He really did love it so. Spinning you around so you faced away from him, he lifted the dress up to access the part of you he most craved. He entered you fast, deep, and hard, and you gleefully called out his name as he did so. Halbrand placed his hands on your hips, pulling you to meet his every thrust, a surge of pleasure vibrating through you with each movement.

Without warning, he suddenly took a hold of your hair, and you could feel it wrap around his hand, his wrist, pulling you upright enough that your palms were barely scraping the dirt. It stung wonderfully, and he gripped you tight, steadying himself as he picked up the pace of his thrusts, the air quickly filling with the sounds of your bodies colliding, heated breathing, and unhinged gasps. The ecstasy was blinding you, torturing you, consuming you, your body reduced to nothing more than a means to his pleasurable end. And yours as well.

"Oh... my love..." Halbrand uttered, his voice beginning to rise as his orgasm approached. He started to slam into you harder than before, your screams becoming whimpers as you were overwhelmed by the sensations he was giving you. Soon your own climax began to build, that delicious climb to the peak of euphoria. You met your love at the top, your voices tangling sonically for what felt like eternity as wave after wave rolled over you both. Once completely sated, drenched in sweat, Halbrand removed himself from you, and the two of you clasped at each other desperately, your mouths clashing, kissing as if it was your only means of survival.

You pulled away slightly from your love, resting your forehead on his, breathing against his lips. "I think... I might... sleep for... an age... after that..." you were panting, barely able to get the words out. Halbrand laughed, his voice still filled with lust. "I am not waiting... an entire age... to do that again." His tongue grazed your lips at his words, and you caught it, kissing him once more. When you finally released him, you fell to the ground, your eyelids heavier than stone. The smoke from the fires nearby stung your nostrils, but it thankfully did not keep you awake.

Suddenly, your eyes went wide. Expecting it to still be night time, you were surprised to see the the sun at its highest point in the sky. Sleep had come and left as quick as an intrusive thought. Sitting upright, you searched your field of vision for Halbrand as he was not by your side. It was then your ears awoke, as you heard his cries upon the wind. You turned and rose to your feet, spying Halbrand not twenty feet away, sobbing uncontrollably. For a moment you had wondered why he might be convulsing like this, but you didn't have to wonder long, for the sight all around you was impossible to ignore.

In every direction lay the ruins of the village, all buildings burned down to their stone foundations. The dead lined the roads every few feet, bodies twisted, mutilated, severed, and blackened by powerful forces. You turned back to Halbrand then and it hit you as his eyes finally found your own. Your darkness had consumed you both, as you had consumed the village, its remains now as black as both your souls. You didn't know if your tears hit the ground before your body did, as you collapsed, the grief overcoming you.

What had you done?