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The day after the Winter Formal, Tauriel didn't want to get up when she heard the eagles returning to their eyrie. She was so tired. She didn't want to have to deal with the effort it would take to go down to the kitchen, eat breakfast, go to daily training, and go on patrol-twice.
Just then, there was a loud knock on her door. "Tauriel? Ready for breakfast?" Amlis asked.
"No. Go away."
"Come on, Tauriel. Time to meet the day."
"Sorry. I don't really want to meet the day, although I appreciate the sentiment."
"If you get up now, I'll fill in on the evening patrol for you."
Tauriel considered the prospect. "You drive a hard bargain. Fine. I'm coming." She got up and got ready still feeling half asleep. In fact, she didn't feel truly awake until she was in the dining hall participating in the usual fight to the death over the last few apples.
"You all act like a bunch of wild animals." Raena yawned, watching the other members of the Guard with interest. Raena never fought over the last bits of fruit. She said it was against her moral conduct.
"You would be too, if you actually needed sustenance to keep you going throughout the day." Tauriel shot back, eating her hard-won fruit. "I think I stayed out a little too late last night."
"We all did." Raena rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them. "It's madness having lessons today. Everyone went to the Formal-whether they were invited or not." The door guards had been especially lenient last night checking the guest list.
"That's not going to be the case next year." Maris interrupted knowingly from the other side of the table. "Didn't you hear? Someone ended up dead last night."
"What do you mean?"
"They think he just overdosed on wine-at least, that's what the palace is telling people."
"What do you think happened?" Tauriel asked.
"Well, his throat was slit. Not exactly your typical overdose, is it?"
"Murder is never typical." Merial cut in, buttering a roll. "You should have gotten here about twenty minutes ago. It was all they were talking about. Maelia says she'll be randomly pulling people out of their lessons so she can question them about what they saw last night."
Tauriel shivered. "Sounds serious."
"It really does-and that isn't even the worst of it. The Palace is in an uproar-the King might cancel the next Winter Formal."
"He wouldn't."
"It would not be a popular decision, but you know what he would say."
"It's 'for the good of the kingdom'."
"Exactly." Merial checked the time and swore under her breath. "We're already late."
Tauriel followed her to the door and scraped the last of her breakfast onto a compost heap outside the window. Her mind was spinning. How had someone been murdered the night before? She hadn't seen anything-or anyone-out of the ordinary. She hoped the Winter Formal wouldn't be cancelled. Everyone looked forward to it. It was the one time a year King Thranduil really connected with his subjects instead of spending his days isolated in his throne room. He couldn't cancel it. He just couldn't.
Tauriel sighed and grabbed another slip of paper from the pile in the center of the table. This one read Your patrol had a run in with a pack of orcs and one of your best daggermen was wounded. She hated writing patrol write-ups, but everyone was required to do so at some time or another.
She tried to imagine what it would be like to even have a run in with orcs in the first place, much less have one of your patrol members murdered because of it. Spider attacks were growing more and more common-but orc attacks were still the things of bedtime stories.
"Having fun?"
She looked up in surprise. Maelia had somehow snuck up behind her and was looking over her shoulder at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. "It doesn't look like you've gotten very far." she added.
"I apologize. I just am having a very hard time focusing…" Tauriel tried to stifle a yawn and focused on the piece of paper in front of her. The words were swimming before her eyes.
"It's fine. Things are always like that the morning after Winter Formal-even when I was an elfling. How about we go back to my office and I'll ask you a few questions about last night instead-not any tough questions, but a few general ones to see if you saw anything out of the ordinary. I guarantee you'll have more fun than you'll have here."
She didn't need to tell her twice. "Sure. Sounds fine." Tauriel said, standing up as quickly as she could without knocking anything over.
Amlis looked up from the other side of the table but didn't say anything. Instead, he gave her a thumbs up.
Maelia's office was about as peaceful and tranquil as Tauriel had imagined it would be. Candles burned low on the walls, throwing soft pools of light onto the ceiling and floor. The walls were painted a soft blue; there was even a small drawing on one side of the room of two young elleths, laughing together as they braided each other's hair on the banks of a cool blue river.
"Who's in that picture?" Tauriel asked, examining it carefully.
"That's me." Maelia pointed to one of the elflings, who was wearing a soft pink dress and looking intensely focused on her task. "I drew this when I was very young-even younger than you are now."
"You were an amazing artist."
"Thank you. After the death of my parents…well, everyone grieves a little bit differently. I devoted myself, heart and soul, to my art. Ultimately, it never came to any fruition but it helped me cope during those first few terrible months. That was when I met Elaina, the young girl who would someday become the king's wife. But for then we were both of the same rank and class-and we had lots and lots of fun together." Maelia traced a finger around the edge of the frame and sighed. "Nothing good can stay. Nothing lasts forever. Anyway, that's not why we're here. We're here so I can ask you a few questions." She settled into a seat behind a paneled wooden desk and pulled out a clipboard. "So, while you were at the Winter Formal did you see anything suspicious?"
"Suspicious how?"
"Strange elves, people you didn't recognize."
"Not really. Then again…I guess I was not really paying attention. I didn't see anybody who looked like they didn't belong."
Maelia sighed and wrote down her answer on the clipboard. "In a way, that is even less reassuring than if we had found an intruder. This means that-"
"It could have been anyone." Tauriel whispered. "Even someone inside the Guard."
Maelia looked away. "It feels like it did years ago, before the Battle of Gundabad, where you couldn't trust anyone-not even those closest to you. Tauriel, did you stay where you were supposed to last night. You didn't just wander the palace freely, did you?"
"No, of course not."
"Are you sure?"
"I would not lie about something. Not something this important."
"I know-and I trust you. Very well then. I think I have everything I need. She stood up, shoving her papers into the drawer of her desk. "You're free to go, Tauriel. If you remember anything else, please do not hesitate to tell me."
"I won't. Thank you, Maelia."
"Think nothing of it." She gave her a small smile and went back to skimming another piece of paper.
Tauriel quietly let herself out. It seemed that every time she talked to Maelia she gained more questions rather than answers.
The next morning, Tauriel had a wicked headache-one so bad she could barely get out of bed. She practically stumbled to the breakfast table, feeling as though dwarves were mining for gold inside of her skull-swinging their axes and rattling bone, over and over until she could barely think straight.
"You look terrible." Merial said bluntly after Tauriel didn't take part in the morning brawl.
"I really don't feel well. My head feels like it's on fire."
"Maybe you should lie down. I can tell Brignir you won't be at Guard practice."
"Thank you. That would be…very helpful."
"Feel better."
"I will."
It felt strange to Tauriel to be lying down in the middle of a work day-a normal day when she should have been at Guard practice. The Guard building seemed to be very quiet while everyone was out at their other jobs. No one was congregating in the hallways, no one was outside the kitchen waiting for the doors to open.
She made herself a cup of tea and crushed up a few herbs that the healer said was supposed to cure her headache. It was healing, but it was taking a very, very long time. Then she pulled out one of the books Raena insisted she read and tried to get a few chapters done. However, it was no use. Her mind wouldn't relax; not when it was filled with questions.
Namely, what had really happened at the Winter Formal-and why hadn't she realized what was going on sooner?
She wondered if Legolas would be going on the morning patrol-and if so whether or not she could wait for him to show up. Eventually, she decided to walk down to the place where patrols started from to see if she could find him. Her head ached a lot less, but it had stopped shooting pain through her skull with every step she took.
Outside, the day was sunny and cold. Snow hadn't fallen in days, so what snow there was on the ground had developed a shiny white sheen. She passed the numerous Guard buildings, most of which would be empty at this time of day, until she reached the briefing room where patrols were supposed to suit up and plan their routes. It was still early; she didn't expect anyone to have arrived yet.
"Tauriel? What are you doing out here at this time of day?" Maris asked, coming around the corner of the building carrying five filled water skins. "Are you coming on patrol?"
"No-I'm just looking for someone. Mind if I stay around for a little bit?"
"Sure. That's fine. Just don't be in the way."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course not."
She waited as he went back and forth collecting supplies. After a while, two other Guard members a few years older than her arrived. She didn't know them personally, although she'd seen them around at meals and other social events. They exchanged pleasantries and went back to their work. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, three more elves arrived-an elf from another Guard building, Dracan, and Amlis. As always, Dracan talked only to give orders and brooded silently for the rest of the time. But Legolas didn't arrive.
Amlis smiled at her and came over once they had made most of the necessary preparations. "Hello Tauriel. What brings you here?"
Tauriel shrugged. "Bored, I guess. Is Legolas signed up for this patrol?"
"I think so, but he has not arrived yet. Of course, this is not particularly surprising. I imagine the palace is almost on lockdown after the Formal. He may have a hard time getting out. He should be here before we set off, though."
They waited for what seemed like a very long time, although Tauriel knew it was only about a half hour. Finally, Dracan sighed. "We are late as it is. We must leave."
"Give him a chance to get here." Maris said.
"He has had his chance. We have to move on if we are to stay on schedule." He started to walk toward the forest, shouldering his pack of supplies.
Just then, someone stepped out of the tree line. "Were you going to leave without me?"
"Speak of the devil." Dracan muttered.
Legolas shouldered his bag easily. "Well, should we go? We're already almost late." They began to move off, heading toward the route they would take through the wood.
"Wait. Legolas, can I talk to you? Just for a minute?" Tauriel spoke up.
"As you wish." Legolas broke off from the rest of the group and walked back. "What is it?"
"What happened at the Formal? Was someone really murdered?"
"Yes, he was. Murdered in cold blood. The Guard is still looking for a motive, but of course no one can figure out what that might be. This elf had no enemies. Everyone liked and respected him. He didn't have any dark secrets. It doesn't seem that anyone would have reason to slit his throat."
"So they don't have any clues?"
He shook his head. "Well, there is one thing. He also was a member of the Elite Guard."
Tauriel stiffened. The Elite Guard was the best of the best-the twenty five best Guard members in the entire forest. They were devoted solely to protecting the royal family from harm-which included door duty at night. If a member of the Elite had been killed, the knife could have been intended for one of the royals. "Is that why the palace is on lockdown?"
"Yes. I had to talk my way past four different guards. Everyone is…worried."
"Something's going on. Something bigger than just one or two spider attacks or one or two murders."
Legolas nodded slowly. "I know. I have felt it. Something big is coming-and we should best prepare ourselves for when it does."
Tauriel's head was starting to hurt. The pieces weren't adding up-and she was had a lot more questions than answers.
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