Something Wicked this way comes

AN: Lothiriel notices trouble approaching.

Dol Amroth, TA 3016

"My lady! We have to go back!" a Swan Knight called to his lady. Duilin had sworn to protect Princess Lothiriel with his life and he did not mean to break his promise. Lothiriel had put to the test his abilities many times in the past. For some reason she seemed prone to attract trouble.

"Sir Duilin, it is only a small breeze. I am sure that our great ship can handle more dangerous weather than that", Lothiriel loved to sail, unlike her older brothers than all loved horses. She was a competent sailor and if she was born a man, she would lead her father's navy. However, she was a woman with some freedom to do as she wills in a society of men. Duilin had noticed the same trait in most of the strong women of the high society: they had to prove their worth to the lords, even when it was not necessary. Sometimes, those strong willed women were as dangerous as cocky young men in front of beautiful women. Sometimes, they did not want to acknowledge that they had to give up.

"My Lady, it is not only a breeze. You know the weather and the sea better than me, you have studied it longer. I am sure, you can recognise the potential danger that there is". Lothiriel frowned, and Duilin knew that she was about to object. "But, even if you are not scared, please think of the crew. Do you think that they or their families should suffer because their captain ignored a potential dangerous situation and took no measures against it?"

Lothiriel stopped to think for a moment and her guard knew that he had convinced her to turn around. Lothiriel had willed, and an ever present desire to prove herself to the incompetent lords of the society she had to interact with, but she was not heartless. Duilin had been protecting her since she turned 8 years old, and he knew that she cared about people, she was kind and willing to help. She lucked wisdom in some cases, but who was wise when they were 17 years old?

The young lady sighed. "Fine, let us go back to harbour. My crew is small, but it does not worth the chance of anything bad happening to them. Captain, we should turn back". Without hesitation she started giving out the orders necessary for their return journey to her crew of her small vessel. Sea breeze was not a warship, rather than a small vessel for good transportation between Guarded Towers. Duilin looked fascinated how she managed everything. All her commands had to go through the captain and owner of the Sea Breeze, but he never complained about any of her decisions. The Swan Knight could tell that the captain was proud; he was her sailing instructor after all. Soon after that they were on their way home.

When the things calmed down a bit and the ship was on its way back, Lothiriel stood at the back of the vessel looking at the open sea. "You were right Duilin, there was a storm coming this way. I was foolish not to recognise it."

"No, my lady. You are still learning, remember?" he tried to console her. She offered him a smile.

"Thank you. I think that you have a higher opinion of me than I truly deserve" and with that she continued staring at the forming storm. After a while the wind picked up and her cape waved behind her like a huge flag. She did not seem concern with that though; her gaze had been fixed to a specific place in the horizon. "Captain!" she called, "do you see what I see? Over there" she pointed the direction to both her sworn sword and her trainer.

The captain of the Sea Breeze was faster than Duilin. "I am afraid so! Take cover, my lady, your training for today is over". He turned immediately to the rest of the small crew. "We are pursued! We have to reach the harbour and fire the alarm!"

"We do not know if we are pursued" Duilin warned him "If we raise a false alarm to the city…"

"I would rather move as if we are pursued by all the devils of Umbar till we reach the defensive line than leave it to luck" and with that he started screaming orders to the sailors.

The ship started moving faster, but so did the enemy ship. Both Lothiriel and Duilin could see now that the enemy ship belonged to the corsair fleet. The Knight wished he could something more to help, but as Lothiriel noted, he could not and thus he should try and stay out of everyone else's way. He hated being useless, but he had to be calm to support his protégé when time came. Lothiriel looked very calm. The rain that poured down on her seemed not to bother her at all; but Duilin could tell that she had started to panic. She never had been in an immediate danger before, he had made sure of that.

It started raining heavier and the enemy ship was gaining ground. If they had not turned around before, they would have run into them. Lothiriel shivered in her jacket. "What will happen if they get us?" she whispered her question.

"They will not".

"But what if… what if they come too close, what if they get to us?"

"We will all make sure that they do not get you. We will find a way to hide you or then hide your identity for as long as possible". If the daughter of Prince Imrahil was caught their enemies would have a huge leverage against both Dol Amroth and Gondor. Lothiriel was a more important person in the country than she ever thought herself to be. "But they will not get us. Look! We are crossing into the defensive line; the battleships will be warned and our enemies will be chased away".

What Duilin had just mentioned was true. Dol Amroth was built within a natural bay. On the outer edges of the bay, towers charged with scouting the area where built. Whenever a ship crossed into their line of sight, they were safe. They would alert nearby warships, or if need be they could attack ships themselves. The captain of the Sea Breeze signalled the closest tower. A light signal came back to them. "They were alerted. They order us to proceed into the safety zone and go over the Tower to give them a description of what happened" Lothiriel translated. She had to learn to read and send the messages when she started her training in sailing. It was important that all captains knew them. Soon after that, they were safe.

The following day, Lothiriel was sitting in her family's private salon. The storm was over the city since early morning and it was so cloudy that it felt like it was night even though it was midday. She tried to focus to her knitting, but it was impossible. She kept thinking of the previous day and the corsairs chasing her. What if they had gotten to her? The political situation of the country would have turned really bad. Despite what Duilin thought, she was old enough to understand politics. What if they had killed the all? She did not feel ready to die.

Also, since the previous night a malicious thought had formed in her mind. What if someone had told them that she was on that vessel? What if she had endangered all those good people because someone spied on her and informed her father's enemies of her habits? That was a very bad thought that had kept her awake at night and made her scared of even her shadow. Anyone could have given that information to the corsairs. Maybe it was the maid, or the kernel master or…

"Lothiriel, how do you feel today? You look very tired". She jumped to the voice, but it was only her father. She sighed and raised from her seat to hug him. Lothiriel loved and trusted her father, but she had no chance to talk with him after her little adventure had finished.

"I am not very well…" she paused for a moment. "Do not tell my brothers, but I am scared" she admitted.

Prince Imrahil let a small smile form in his face. "Are you scared that your brothers will go out there and try to gain a bigger adventure than your?"

"No!" she gave a small and very unlady like punch to her father's arm. "I am scared of the corsairs! Not of my silly brothers. Did they come for me? What if they wanted to kidnap me to harm you?" The Prince's face was serious as he hugged his youngest offspring.

"Do not worry. Noone was after you. The enemy vessel was captured and its crew interrogated. They were lost in the storm and they tried to escape it. It is true that they tried to raid the city, but they did not want to harm our family specifically". His grey eyes met hers. "Never the less, you have to promise me to not go so far out of the defensive line again. I hope with all my heart that a time will come when you will be safe to sail till Umbar, but this time is not now. You understand the political situation, don't you?"

Lothiriel looked at her knitting. She tried to make a scarf for Amrothos. Sailing came more naturally to her and the young princess enjoyed it more, but she understood why she had to do as her father wished. "I do. I will not go again sailing so far away again, father."

Princess Lothiriel made a wish that night. She wished that the war was over, and that she could sail freely in the sea. She wished she would become the Queen of the sea and she slept with that image in her mind.