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It didn’t take long for Arondir to realize that his best chance at escape was to wait for a moment when the uruks and preferably Adar were distracted. There were far too many uruks to defeat. Attacking Adar would have been somewhat easier, but unless Arondir did it while the two bathed alone, he would still need to either fight or evade the uruks. Besides, it was supposed to be very difficult to harm one’s alpha. Arondir thought he could make himself do it, but likely not without some form of hesitation. So, an escape that didn’t involve some form of confrontation was preferable.
Still, as the only elf besides Adar, Arondir couldn’t move anywhere without standing out, and there was no way for him to cause a distraction without someone noticing. He would need to wait until one occurred naturally.
This happened roughly three weeks after he’d first been brought to the village. At first it was just a few uruks. They seemed to be wandering around, calling out a word that Arondir didn’t understand; “Ugri,” it was, although sometimes it was mixed with other sounds in Black Speech. As time went on, more uruks joined them. Arondir watched them for a while. Initially, he merely wondered what was happening. Then, he realized that those around him were far too preoccupied to pay close attention to what he was doing.
He tested this by walking slowly to the border of the village. A few uruks glanced at him as he passed, but none seemed overly concerned with anything other than...whatever it was that they were looking for. He paused when he got to the point where the village ended, waiting for someone to stop him. But no one paid him any mind, so he kept walking, making sure to keep his pace slow enough that if someone happened to glance at him, he could claim he was just taking a stroll. They wouldn’t believe him, but they wouldn’t harm him for going only a short distance. But no shouts came. So, once his view of the village was blocked by the trees that surrounded the village, he ran.
He pushed aside the discomfort that came with disobeying Adar, ignored any irrational sense of guilt, and just ran.
He might not have recognized the village they were in, but he knew enough of the Southlands to know which direction he needed to go. If he could get to the Ered Lithui, he was certain he could pick up the trail to Eregion. It would be at least two weeks on foot, likely more, but that couldn’t be helped. He didn’t dare stop at any human settlement, even if the uruks, had left any unharmed along the way. He was certain that Adar would follow him, and the alpha would swat humans away like flies. But Arondir didn’t think Adar would risk his children against an elven army simply for an omega.
It felt good to run. It had been weeks since he’d done so, and the air felt good whipping past him. He dodged around trees and leapt over rocks effortlessly. He went on for a few miles before he came to a stream. There, he stopped and listened for pursuers. He could hear the uruks, but they were a long way off and didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He could sense a curious mixture of anger and worry from Adar, but Arondir couldn’t sense him getting closer. That was strange; almost strange enough for Arondir to worry about it being a trap. But he wasn’t about to turn back.
He could afford a slight rest, though. He sat down by the water’s edge and drank deeply from the stream. It was a pity he didn’t have any provisions or anything to store water in. He didn’t even have a knife. But elves could endure quite a number of hardships. Arondir would need to make due with what he could find along the way. He hadn’t been sitting long when his ears picked up another sound. Faint and distant. Closer to him than the uruks were, but still a fair way off. Human and uruk ears wouldn’t have picked it up, but to Arondir, it was unmistakable: someone was sobbing.
He hesitated for a moment, well aware that investigating could cause him to lose his advantage. But whoever was out there needed help. Arondir had been unable to save the Southlanders. He’d fled without trying to free them, knowing that even had he been able to break their chains, the uruks would simply kill them. Yet, if there was anyone out there this far from the village, perhaps he could help just this one person.
Arondir got to his feet and followed the sound, even as it led slightly back the way he’d come. After a few minutes of walking, he realized that the sobbing was coming from a child, and he quickened his pace. Finally, he came to a small clearing, and he halted.
Sitting on the ground under an old oak tree was quite a young child. An uruk child. His back rested against the bark. His knees were pulled up to his chest, and the child was hunched over, crying into his knees.
There was no one else in sight, and Arondir could tell all too easily that the child must be lost. The uruks’ odd behavior suddenly made sense, as did why Adar hadn’t followed him. Regardless of how much Adar wanted a pet omega, surely he would prioritize finding a lost child.
Sighing, Arondir stepped into the clearing. When the child didn’t look up, he spoke quietly. “Hello.”
The uruk leapt up and backed away, but any exit was blocked by the tree. He looked very frightened, which Arondir supposed made sense. Uruks feared elves as much as elves feared uruks. The uruk children in the village eyed him occasionally, with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, but they never came close.
Arondir held up his hands and dropped to one knee to try to show he meant no harm. “It’s alright. I won’t hurt you...” He thought about what he could say to make the child trust him. “You recognize me right? I’m Adar’s...mate.” After a moment, the child nodded. “My name is Arondir. What’s yours?”
Another moment of silence, then, “Ugri.”
“Ugri.” Arondir repeated. “Did you get lost?”
Tears welled up in Ugri’s eyes again, and he nodded. “We were playing, and I was hiding. I tried to hide somewhere they wouldn’t find me...but I went too far. And I can’t find my way back.”
Arondir felt a pit in his stomach. He knew he couldn’t leave the child alone out here. The uruks were still a far way off, and who knew when or if they would find Ugri? To bring Ugri with him was also unthinkable. Neither humans nor elves would be kind to any uruk, child or not. So, there was only one course of action he could take.
“I...I was actually going to go back to the village. Would you come with me?” Arondir offered his hand. “Everyone is worried about you.”
Again, Ugri hesitated, but apparently a desire to go home overweighed any lingering fear. He took Arondir’s hand. The child’s hand was small in Arondir’s, and Arondir couldn’t help but imagine how the forest must look like through the eyes of a child. To Arondir, it felt similar to home. Far better than the uruk village. To a child, it must seem full of terrors.
“It will be alright.” Arondir assured Ugri, as they started to walk. “It won’t take long.”
This was a lie, of course. The return journey took much longer than it had to reach this far into the forest. Arondir couldn’t run with Ugri, so they had to walk. On top of that, it started to rain when they were about halfway back. It wasn’t pleasant even for a fully grown elf, but Arondir could endure it. Ugri didn’t complain, though Arondir could see him shiver. When Arondir removed his cloak and folded it up so that it was short enough for the child to wrap around him without tripping, Ugri took it and clenched it around him tightly.
Arondir briefly considered waiting until they were within eyesight of the village, telling Ugri to go on without him, and then running off, but he knew he wouldn’t get the chance. He could already sense Adar heading in their direction, and he knew the alpha wasn’t pleased with him. Besides the sounds of the uruks calling were getting close. Arondir wouldn’t make it far.
They were about a half mile from the village when Adar met them. His eyes narrowed when they met Arondir’s. His body seemed taut, his mouth set in a scowl. He stalked toward him purposefully, and Arondir tensed, prepared to block an attack. But then Adar’s gaze fell on Ugri, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Ugri ran forward, letting out a string of words in Black Speech as he threw himself toward Adar. Heedless of the mud, Adar dropped to his knees and caught Ugri in his arms. The alpha held the child tightly, muttering words that sounded like they were meant to comfort.
“I found him in the forest.” Arondir explained stiffly. He was certain Adar knew that Arondir hadn’t left to search for the child, but there was less anger in Adar’s eyes when he looked up at Arondir.
“Then you have my gratitude.” Adar replied. He rose with Ugri still in his arms.
The three continued on their way back to the village together, Arondir in silence, Ugri still prattling on, and Adar making occasional responses to whatever Ugri was saying. As they drew near, there were shouts from the uruks, and they began to swarm around the three.
It felt odd to have the uruks pat him on the back and thank him, but Arondir accepted it. When Ugri had at last been handed back to his frantic parents, Adar led the way back to their cabin. The silence was palpable. This did nothing to ease Arondir’s anxiety.
The warmth inside was a relief, even if Arondir had hoped never to see the place again. The hearth wasn’t lit yet, despite the rain and the chill. Clearly, Adar hadn’t been inside that day long enough to deem it necessary. Arondir expected the alpha to turn on him the moment they walked through the door, but instead Adar headed straight to the bedroom. He emerged briefly to toss a set of dry clothes and a blanket at Arondir.
“Here.” Adar said shortly. “Your clothes are soaked.”
Then he returned to the bedroom. Arondir could hear the sounds of Adar’s army clanking as the alpha undressed. After a moment Arondir did as Adar had suggested. He lay his wet clothes on the floor in front of the hearth, then set about getting a fire started.
He sat on the floor to be closer to the flames. The floor creaked when Adar came out to join him. It surprised Arondir to see Adar had brought pillows and more blankets with him. The alpha arranged them into a cot on the floor and guided Arondir to lie down.
Only when they were both lying there, with Arondir’s back pressed to Adar’s chest, did Adar break the silence. “That was very foolish of you.”
Arondir snorted. “It would have worked. I got several miles away before I found Ugri. I could have covered more before nightfall.”
Adar pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. “No doubt. But your heat should arrive within the week. What would you have done then? You wouldn’t have made it to safety by then, and I expect going into heat in the wild would be quite uncomfortable.”
Arondir’s stomach felt queasy at the realization that Adar had paid enough attention to keep track of that. In truth, Arondir hadn’t realized. So much had happened in the past month. Between trying unsuccessfully to keep the Southlands safe from the uruks to learning his way around the village so he could escape, somehow figuring out when his next heat would arrive had seemed unimportant. But Adar had remembered, even if he hadn’t said anything earlier, because the alpha was looking forward to it...
But Arondir wasn’t about to admit that to Adar. “I was a grower before the war. I know what plants can be used as suppressants.” They wouldn’t have been as effective as if he’d had the equipment and time to prepare them as a healer would, but they would have kept the worst of the symptoms at bay.
“Hmm...I’m impressed. Why did you become a soldier? Being a grower would have been less dangerous.”
“Morgoth burned Beleriand, and I wanted revenge.” Not that Arondir ever got it. At first, he’d been far too unskilled in warfare to be sent to the battlefield. He had undergone training and been tasked with guarding Lindon, and there had been times when he’d fought small bands of uruks. But by the time his training was finished, the war had been over. He’d been sent several places, helping to reclaim lands from the last of Morgoth’s followers. Then when it had seemed the elves could trust the peace, Arondir had been stationed in the Southlands.
“Morgoth was imprisoned long ago. Why didn’t you return to your old life?”
“Does it matter?” Arondir didn’t feel like trying to explain how nowhere in Lindon nor Greenwood had felt like home after Beleriand. How to simply go back to being a grower had seemed impossible after all that had passed.
“It obviously does to you. But you needn’t speak of it if you don’t wish to do so.” Adar paused. “What would you like to talk of?”
Nothing, in truth. But Arondir would rather learn what his fate was to be sooner than later. “Are you going to punish me?”
Adar had the audacity to chuckle at this. “No. I considered it earlier, but that would be needlessly harsh. You came back, after all. And you did save Ugri, even though it cost you much. Besides,” he reached out and cupped Arondir’s chin in his hand. Gently, he tilted Arondir’s head backward to look at him. “I can promise you that you will not get an opportunity to try that again.”