One Flesh, One Soul. Part I by FellFireFan  

---

Vengeance Will Be Mine

---

Warning: Chapter contains brutal depictions of violence and sexual threat.

 

The abandoned slaughterhouse stood silent.  It was the smell that woke him. Stale air and rotten timber. The ominous, rhythmic clanking of metal in the light breeze did nothing to sooth his nerves. Dust filled the air illuminated by the rays of sunlight streaming through the gaps in decaying wooden walls. As his foggy consciousness slowly returned, Aegnor soon became very aware of a sinister shadow looming over him.

"Wake up, little prince," the dry, crackled voice taunted as Aegnors eyes fluttered open. Crouched over his head was Hagrath, a leering grin stretched his lips as his eyes devoured his prized trophy.  Aegnor twitched and rolled onto his side to face his adversary. His hands bound beind his back by rope, he winced slightly in pain

"Are you comfortable?" Hagrath smirked,

"Not particularly..." Aegnor grunted hazily, rising into a seated position.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" He jeered. "My men and I were just discussing what to do to you. Like cutting off your pointy ears to adorn my neck!" 

"Truly?" scoffed Aegnor, "Since my ears are the trophies for your ardent fascination then, I beg you cut off my nose as well that I might finally find relief from the putrid stink that rots from you!"

Tense rage twisted in Hagraths face. His burning eyes glaring at the elf, he spat upon the ground next him. He slowly wiped the residue from his mouth. Making sure Aegnor bore witness to it all and rose. He walked away to rejoin his men.

Aegnor took quick stock of his surroundings. Rows of grisly, rusted implements used for chopping and cutting livestock hung ominously above him, glinting menacingly in the dim light. Plates of dirty glass hung haphazardly from above, adding a touch of eerie reflection to the desolate space where he found himself a captive.

His attention was abruptly diverted by the sight of Andreth, who stood, gagged and tied to a partially rotten contraption. The sight of her tears enraged him yet she seemed unharmed. He could not lose focus now.

Summoning his strength, Aegnor gracefully rose to his feet, his towering presence commanding the centre of the room. His gaze locked onto Hagrath, his eyes burning with iron wrath. Hagrath's voice cut through the silence, laced with derision and arrogance. Aegnor watched with a seething scorn as he stroked her head, causing Andreth to recoil in discust. Then suddenly, he unleashed a vicious slap across her delicate face. Andreth yelped loudly.

"Come on, elf!" Hagrath taunted and slapped her again "rescue your fair maiden!"

Aegnors eyes fixed on Hagrath. A raging thunderous storm reflected in their calm gaze. He struck her again, her sharp cry split the air and rang loud as bells in Aegnor's hot, red ears.

Cackling, Hagrath held out his hand, Raising it to Aegnors eye level. "You see this?"

The glint of Aegnor's cherished blade clasped firmly in his dirty fingers. "It's real pretty!" He waved it around rather ungracefully, Aegnor took stock of his posture and tracked his every movement. He smiled to himself, realising Hagrath had no real training or experience with a blade.

"Look at this thing... not even a single scratch on it, I don't think you're a fighter at all. Just a pretty stocking, full of shit!" Hagrath smirked.

"Then untie my binds! I'll put your mind to ease!" Aegnor sneered.

Hagrath burst into peels of hysterical laughter, his crooked, yellow teeth illuminated by the dusty sunbeams.

"Your not even going to beg?" Hagrath scoffed

Low and grave, Aegnor's replied "Nay, I have recognised the flaws in your design. It matters not what you choose to do this moment on. I have already decided the means by which I will kill you. Your success in capturing of me was but a fleeting victory. One that will end in your bloodshed."

Hagraths grin faltered, briskly attempting to regain his composure. "What flaw did I make?"

Aegnor's eyes locked with Hagrath's. His words laced with a bone-chilling certainty as he replied, "waking me up!"

A deathly silence followed as Aegnors gaze locked onto Hagrath like a predator drawing upon its pray. Words spoken with such icy stillness left even the most hardened of the group shivering. Without another word, Hagrath turned and slashed Andreth's face with it. Her voice collapsed into a high-pitched shriek, and the kiss of the blade stung into her flesh, drawing her blood across her cheek. Aegnor's icy calm shattered. A piercing roar of horror and rage tore through the air, emanating from the depths of his being.

This was the moment the men were waiting for as all at once, they pounced on Aegnor like wild animals in a cage.  But the elf was too swift, dodging every blow with calculated precision. No matter how hard they tried they could not catch Aegnor off guard, like he had eyes on every part of his body. Driven by a need to prove himself, it was Baryn who stepped into the ring. Challenging Aegnir with newfound courage.

He proved to be no match for Aegnor's agility, as the battle hardened elf launched the young man head first into an array of rusty tools. Broken glass rained upon him. A tool that hung above his head was knocked from its holster and fell downward, straight into Baryns skull. Convulsing violently, he slipped away. His body stilling and he slumped down dead.

The room was enveloped in an eerie silence as all witnessed the young life drain from him.  The men, enraged by the death of Baryn and wanting revenge, captured Aegnor and dragged him mercilessly over the shards of glass that scattered around the floor. They tore at his clothes and shred his skin as both men subjected the defenceless elf to a brutal assault, beating him senselessly within an inch.

Loud thuds, slams, breaths filled the dusty air old as Aegnor was subjected to a vicious beating. Andreths screams of protest and helpless terror joined with theirs as she was forced to witness the brutal assault inflicted upon her dear friend. The cloth slipped from her mouth and she pleaded with Hagrath, desperate to end the their torment.

"Stop! Stop this, Hagrath!" She cried, "Aegnor is powerfully connected in every realm in Beleriand, Prince's like him who will comb every leaf and road for your head if you do not stop!" Hagrath listened intently, his vacant predatory eyes fixed upon her. "If you saught to teach me a lesson, consider it taught! Take me in his stead! I will not run away...I will not fight back! I will be yours! Please Hagrath... stop hurting him!"

"You would give yourself so freely? Why? What hold does he have over you?" He sneered. A solemn, tear stained gaze was her only reply. "So... it is true... you do have feelings for him!" He leered, laughing hysterically at the irony, "all those years I wanted you, and you give yourself to him?! Miss high and mighty, the elfs little whore!" 

Her pleading, downcast eyes had no effect of him. "You said it yourself! Should I let him go so he can bring the entire elven army to my doorstep? How can I let him go now..." An evil glint shined in his eye, his sadistic desires never wavering. "Just how intimate are you with him?" Andreth remained silent, her gaze hardening and Hagraths taunting smile creeping wider as he hissed, "do you let him kiss those succulent sweet petals?"

She spat into his eye. He jolted as her scowling eyes glared intensely at him. He retaliated with a forceful slap to her cheek. Near knocking her to the ground.

Gasping for breath, the men finally halted their relentless assault, their battered knuckles throbbing with pain. They dragged Aegnor to the centre of the floor, throwing him to the ground. Tenrils of crimson blood streamed from his brow and nose, down the fine contours of his lips. He sat there eerily calm, like a demon in a state of dreaming.

Hagrath picked up a loose pebble and threw it at him. It pinged against Aegnor's forehead. Yet still, the elf made no move.

His men laughed, their cackles filling the air. A tear fell down Andreths cheek as she watched on helplessly. Watching Aegnor endure every degrading taunt and humiliating slur they could think to throw at him. Finally the men grow tired and frustrated at Aegnors total lack of engagement. Behind him, one man stood close, towering over the elf. He brandished a long iron cattle poker, holding it threateningly over his head. His heavy breaths revealed his searing rage toward the elf.

"I tire of this useless dog... Hagrath, give him to me!" The pot bellied man yelled, his white knuckles tightening around the seering rod. "I want to brand every inch of his body for what he did to Baryn!" 

Hagraths chilling laughter rang out. "Plundering, killing, raping... isnt enough for you anymore?" He cackled with sinister amusment. "We'll deal with the elf later, for now..." Hagrath turned to Andreth "it seems her ladyship is overdressed for the occasion. Let's unburden her!" 

"Don't touch her!" A piercing growl split the air, demonic and primal. Its otherwordly resonance startled the cackling men. Aegnors eyes had opened, his menacing glare fixed upon them. Blood saturated his face and hair.  "You will not touch her... lay one hand on her and you will know the full might of my vengeance."

Slowly, Hagrath approached. Aegnor's precious blade still clasped in his hand the bright gleam from reflected low sun. He crouched before him, invasively close to his blood stained face, taunting him, Raising the razor sharp blade to Aegnors neck.

"Is she a toy of yours to command at your will...just like this blade once? We can't both have her, elf," he taunted "do you know what she did? She made an offer I almost couldn't refuse. To open her legs and do so willingly... all to bargain for your safety!"

Aegnors silent, unblinking glare devoured Hagraths sardonic grin. 

"Yield to me, you have lost! You are worthless to her!" He hissed through his yellow, snarling teeth.

The stoic facade Aegnor had maintained began to fracture, his hardened glare faltering, his resolve shattering. His eyes, once brimming with silent strength dropping to the floor. Hagrath revelled in his percieved victory. Aegnor yielded as Hagrath pushed his head back, the blades razor sharp tip drawing lines on his delicate throat. Hagraths gaze devoured every inch of Aegnors fine feature. Intoxicated by the sweet taste if impending victory.

Seeing the disarmed elf completely at his mercy, Hagrath withdrew the blade. The moment he did so, Aegnor's eyes snapped open. Revealing a monstrous light like wild fire.

A sharp, sickening, guttural screech erupted from Hagrath as a large shard of razer sharp glass was plunged into his throat. Hagrath fell to the ground in a violent, convulsing fit, his eyes wide with shock.

His binds severed from the shard he concealed behind his back, before the men could react, Aegnor grabbed the red hot rod that was held above his head and drove it into the mans leg, it sizzled loudly and smoked as he screamed. Now wielding the rod as a weapon, Aegnor leapt to his feet and beat the helpless man mercilessly with whiping, scorching blows. Finally pinning him down by his throat, the elf showed no mercy.

"No! NOOO!!" He screamed before Aegnor drove the red hot iron into his head through his eye. His peircing screams rang out as blood and matter boiled from his eyesocket. Once his screams has ceased, Aegnors murderous gaze turned to the last man remaining. He immediantly fled the scene, grabbing the blade Hagrath dropped, Aegnor launched himself after him, swiftly closing in. Seizing him behind, he slashed his throat cleanly.  Andreth watched in horror as the man gurgled, and blood spurted from his throat.

He threw the writhing man to the floor like a sack of rotten potatoes. With a cold, vacant gaze, Aegnor placed his boot on the mans neck and pressed down. Thick blood pooled from the man's throat as his life drained from his body, under Aegnor's cruel watch. Petrified, Andreth watched the scene unfold, a silent witness to the force of Aegnors fury. Finally, after the man breathed his last, Aegnor turned to Andreth.

Blood splattered across his face, clothes, and hands. Glowing, demonic eyes peered at her through tendrils of golden hair, stained red with blood. The light in his flaming eyes left him as quickly as it came and he appeared normal again. He cautiously approached her trembling figure.

"Don't be frightened, I will not harm you, Andreth," he spoke, his breath trembling in the tense silence.

He raised his hand and placed it tenderly on her face, turning it to one side, he inspected the wound on her cheek. Her loud, shaking breaths soothed from his gentle, reassuring touch

"Are there any more?" he asked, his voice coarse. She shook her head, her eyes filled with tears, and Aegnor proceeded to cut her bonds with his bloodied knife. As soon as her arms were free, she lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, needing the solace of a protective embrace. He struggled with the urge to cry as her arms squeezed around his waist, eliciting sharp shots of pain from his beaten body.

Slight movement among the mutilated corpses of men attracted Aegnor's attention. He abruptly pulled away from her embrace and stomped towards it. Hagrath lay on his stomach in a pool of his blood. He slithered upon the floor, the shard of crimson stained glass still lodged in his throat. Upon seeing him, Aegnor closed in as Hagrath clawed at the ground, desperate to escape. His steps, slow and ominous. He grabbed Hagrath, flipping him onto his back and stood over him. He held Hagrath by his clothing, his repossessed blade erect in his other hand. His eyes filling with a menacing bloodlust no force could satisfy.

"Aegnor!" She cried in protest.

He whirled his head, his glaring eyes locking with hers. "don't...!"

For a brief moment, he did hesitate. Her pleading eyes near tempering his seering rage within. But, seeing the wound on her cheek, the cut inflicted by Hagrath to taunt him quickly downed any mercy within him.

"If you do not wish to witness... then look away!" he hissed.

Relenting, she did so without resistance, understanding that now even her pleas held no sway in him.

Heaving furiously, Aegnor turned his attention back to Hagrath. Despite Hagrath's weak whimpers for mercy, Aegnor emptied his rage upon him, ruthlessly mutilating, disembowelling, and desecrating his face and body. Every slice, hack, and blow was an explosion of fury unbridled. Continuing his brutal assault without stopping until there was nothing left to sever. Finally, Aegnor's vengeance quenched. Blood saturated his hands and clothes as he stepped away.

"Let's go!" he growled as he stormed past Andreth, who had averted her gaze throughout the entire ordeal. When she finally turned around, her hands covered her mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to come out. Piles of mangled organs, blood, and dismembered body parts were strewn about, remnants of what was once Hagrath.

After a prolonged pause, she turned back to Aegnor, who stood waiting on her, her eyes wide with terror. Aegnor, seeing the fear in her eyes, gently extended his hand to her. After a long hesitation, Angreth responded, taking it in hers, and Aegnor led them into the warm embrace of sunlight and the cool shade of the surrounding trees, leaving the old slaughter house behind Strewn across its decaying ground, the lifeless bodies of the men who had dared cross Aegnor and to Andreth, a testament to the lengths he would go to protect her.

 

○○○

 

The gentle trickle of the stream sang tranquil songs surrounding Andreth as she sat silently by the bank. She watched Aegnor cleanse himself in the flowing water. The crimson stains mingled with the current. His wet hair, unbound and loose, cascaded down his back. But it was his shoulders that commanded attention, sinewy and powerful, displaying the strength that lay within. A gentle breeze whispered through the air, softly tousling Andreth's hair and dress. Her eyes remained vacant, the weight of what she had seen still settling upon her.

Aegnor turned his head, his eyes meeting Andreth's in a silent exchange. In that fleeting moment, a world of unspoken words passed between them. His gaze was soft, a plea for comfort in any form. He longed for her understanding, for the solace only she could provide. There, in the depths of his eyes, Andreth could sense the raw vulnerability that seeped from him, his need for her unwavering support in that one look.

Rising gracefully to his feet, he threw his thin shirt over his powerful shoulder and made his way towards her. The setting sun bathed him in a warm orange glow, accentuating his every contour. His black leggings clung to his narrow hips, and he bared his skin in front of her, his muscles bent and flexed with every graceful step. As he approached, Andreth couldn't help but notice the scars that covered his body. Dark red lines veined around his torso. Flesh long healed with time. She noticed a silver carved pendant, glistened against his chest, swinging freely with every stride. 

Settling beside her on a log, Aegnor draped the thin shirt across his body, his movements tense and guarded. The charged silence enveloped them, and Andreth's gaze was drawn to his hands, blood seeping between his fingers as he discreetly tended to a cut palm.

The weight of his presence settled upon the log. Aegnor's stormy gaze stared into the distance. The silence grew heavy until, finally, his voice broke through, laden with frustration.

"Darkness comes soon... we must find my horse and return you home," he growled, still avoiding her gaze. Andreth's heart tightened, a mix of apprehension and longing filling her.

"Perhaps we should make camp..." her fragile voice spoke, "and look for her in the morning,"

"Nay!" Aegnor barked, shaking his head. A heavy silence enveloped them, and the gentle trickle of the river sung its lonely song. "I do not regret what I did to him!" He hissed, his eyes darting at her. "He will never harm anyone again!"

"Thank you..." she whispered.

Aegnor's remained distant, consumed by a storm of thoughts. They sat side by side, enveloped in a heavy silence that carried the weight of a thousand unspoken words. She trembled, her voice laced with concern. "You're hurt..." reaching out her hand in a sincere offering. Aegnor ignored her, his face hardening.

"Aegnor?" She insisted, reaching further. Her cold finger tips grazed his wounded hand. Aegnor jolted to his feet, wrenching his hand free

"Stay your hands from me, woman!" he roared

The sudden outburst scared her immensely.

"Do you have no regard for your own life!? Once afore, you were beset by that parasite and lo, you took no action to see him punished for his crimes. Now you barter with him while your very life hung by a thread! Have you no shame? Have you no care?!"

"Please Aegnor, lower your voice!" She replied with feigned calmness.

"What unspeakable fate would have came upon you had I not, for the second time, been there to prevent it, Andreth? What would have became of you!?"

She remained silent. Her wide eyes frozen in place.

"Answer me!" He demanded, glaring down at her, his eyes filled fear and hurt.

She did not answer him. She could not.. for she feared his response. Her head dropped low as the silent tears she faught back began to flow.

"Andreth," he huffed and leaned closer to her, desperately seeking some understanding, "have you no care for my feelings?" 

His heavy question hung between them and Andreth sank deeper into her lap. Disappointed and angry beyond measure, Aegnor turned from her.

"It seems not so," he concluded and left her there upon the log. His form fading along the bank to the distant trees. Alone, her sobbs echoed out into the forest, mingling the cheerful chirps of birds in the air.

​​​​​​​