The pages from Gondor tried to work as quickly as possible

Chapter 2

The pages from Gondor tried to work as quickly as possible. These gypsies spooked them, and they wanted to be away as soon as their duty released them. A woman dressed in black and red with an embellished violet veil sauntered up to one of the younger men. Curling a jet black tress around her finger, she gave him a little wink, drawing attention to her striking emerald eyes, and asked in a purr of seduction,

"What race lives in those tents, boy?"

"E-e-elves, lady. Those are the-the elves' tents." His eyes went against his will to her chest, barely decent beneath the lace of her gown. Her eyes sparkled, she pushed closer to him.

"Just who lives in those tents? Perhaps such a handsome boy as you could provide me with a few…titles."

"Lord Elrond, Lord Celeborn, Lady Galadriel, King Thranduil, Prince Legolas, and Lady Idrial all reside there m- miss." His voice shook as he rambled off the names at a breakneck pace.

"Excellent, good to know the neighbors." She tapped her perfectly manicured fingers together, and then disappeared back into her tent.

Once inside, her demeanor was entirely different. Gone was the soft purr, her voice hard as stone. "Stupid boy. The king will be quite displeased if he learns how he has assisted me. He would never dare to come forward, however." Jeherthra no longer stepped with a seductive saunter. She stalked through the tent, her every step punctuated with the ring of her ornate jewelry.

"Slave boy!" At the snap of her fingers a dirty slip of a boy ran into the room, throwing himself to the floor before her. "Fetch the hawk and send word to Barabas and Erabus. I am in need of their services. They told me they could be here within four hours." The slave ran to complete his task. Jehethra turned to the entry flap. The pages still wandered about.

"They had better." She growled to the air.

They were even more prompt than their original promise. It was just over three hours since the hawk had flown when two dark lanky men, hidden under swaths of black cloth, rode up to her tent in a wooden dogcart pulled by two equally lanky and dark horses. A glint of steel accompanied them laying their small knives in the back of the cart before disembarking to meet their employer.

"Well met Jehethra." The larger of the two, (and the smarter by all accounts) Erabus, addressed her. He was a kidnapper from Harad; working with the slavers, making sure their market was always well stocked. He excelled in the capture of all Middle-Earth races. His clean shaven head was covered in the tattoos of a slave hunter. The other, Barabas, stood behind him. He was extremely tall and gangly, an odd build for a man of Umbar. His dark hair hung in greasy strands in front of his face. His blunt features added to his overall appearance of being made from the gods spare parts. He worked as a spice trader when he was not harvesting ingredients from a variety of sources for Jehethra's pay.

"What have you for us?" he asked.

"I have a large scale assignment for you two, that is why I called you both. Come with me to the banquet tonight, and you shall be shown your prey."

"You eye another slave?"

"No, we are not going after kitchen staff! You must realize the importance of this. There are elves here, Barabas. Now what could I want with elves?"

His smile showed his appalling dentistry. "Blood."

"Yes, very good." Her smile was a polar opposite of his. "You both know well the healing powers of elf-blood. The profit given to me will be considerate. So will your pay, if you complete the task successfully."

"How many will you be wanting?"

"Two at least. Knowing elves it should be a couple. They are excellent at locating each other. That would remove some of the difficulty for you."

"Well, show us our victims. I lust for the hunt." Erabus' eyes sent chills down his companions' spines.

They were admitted easily into the welcome banquet. The elves were grouped together in conversation with the King and his Fellowship. The gypsy woman watched them for a few moments. As a young serving boy passed, she stopped him.

"Ah, you again, page." Her charm was working full force. "You already gave me the names of the elves, but it would be a true shame to get them mixed in their company. Who is who?"

The two Harad men watched in knowing amazement as Jehethra easily coaxed the names of the company from the bumbling serving boy. Another waiter snapped his fingers at the boy, and he gratefully hurried back to his duties.

"So?"

"Oh, do not be so impatient." Jehethra had turned her eyes to the elves again.

"Your call was supposedly urgent. I itch to get to work on one of those women."

Now the gypsy did look at him, her eyes full of cold ridicule. "I need their fresh blood. They cannot be dead, and as unmolested as possible, if you can restrain yourself. But I think I know who I want." She turned back to the group of elves. "Lady Arwen is not an option. She says up in the city and would be too hard to take quietly. I will avoid Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. Their worth is immeasurable, yet they have great power, and even after the death of Sauron I distrust that Ring she bears. Elrond is also up in the city often." She voice began into trail into muttering as she formulated her thoughts aloud. The two slavers had to strain to hear her. "I cannot see Thranduil being easy. Even now he watches us, he has no other, and he has a build that looks strong enough to easily take you both down, even with… and that would not be cost-effective." Erabus scowled at that.

"That leaves the last couple." His interruption seemed to take the gypsy by surprise.

"Yes. They enjoy walking the woods together, from what I have learned while waiting for you. You should be able to catch them a distance from the camps so no one will see or hear you."

"She is slender. It will not be hard." Barabas picked a treat off a passing platter.

"You have to catch them both. And you can see she is strong. Do not take this lightly."

"We do not." Erabus dug his elbow into his companion. "When do you want them?"

"As soon as can be. My client is…in haste." The gypsy paused. She rarely spoke of her own employer.

"It will be difficult. Elves are hard to catch, and harder to subdue."

"That is where I will help you. I have a drug, one of my own creations. It will not harm you, but even a few drops inhaled will render an elf unconscious."

"And what do you call this stuff?" Erabus seemed suspicious.

"A name is only a convenient handle. Without a name, it is kept secret. Be careful not to use more than you need. Too much can be lethal."