The Stewards and Fenlock

"You…you're Fenlock?" Ryder couldn't believe what he said. "What…how are you associated with that name?"

Her bewildered state still seemed to amuse Colin. Declan grinned at his friend and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a ring he put on his middle finger. The same ring she saw in Mirkwood Forest that was black and gold with a letter in the middle. Getting a closer look at the ring, Ryder saw the engraved initial was an F.

"You really shouldn't be so trusting," Colin said in a scolding tone. "And by trusting I mean the people closest to you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she glared back. Were there more secrets she didn't know about? What else could there be? Legolas's previous engagement was pretty big news.

"Using a cloaking spell to hide, I tried to find out more about you. At first I thought you were merely pretending you were a…commoner from this world. But you really don't know the truth do you?" Colin shook his head and chuckled at Ryder's blank stare. "What a shame."

"I know the truth," she snapped back.

"Are you sure?" The dirty-blonde haired boy grinned, crossing his arms. Ryder had no idea what he meant, but doubt began to creep into her mind. Did they know something else she didn't?

"That's enough, Colin," Declan gave him a warning look. Colin rolled his eyes but obeyed.

"This isn't about her. This is about me. We'll get to your story soon enough," he winked at her. "Now, to finally answer your question..." Declan paced a little.

"I assume Legolas told you the Fenlock Clan were farmers and rose to power from a steward who gave them gold and titles. But why would a steward who was looked upon like a king give measly farmers such a generous offer? Why not have one of his soldiers or even an assassin do as he commanded? Well, I'll tell you why. You see, Steward Frederick's wife was a Finn. From one ancestor who gave birth out of wedlock, the Fenlock Clan was born. Because the Fenlocks were a poor family, my relative was sent away and her true identity concealed. Dishonor would befall the Finn Clan if the royal court knew one of their own disgraced her family by falling in love with a farmer. Something they didn't want to repeat, given how the Finns came to power though a similar situation. Because the Fenlocks remained unimportant to the court, no one ever paid them that much attention."

"So, you're saying Steward Frederick's wife felt bad for what happened to your ancestor and tried to make amends by giving the following generations power?" Ryder summed it how she interpreted Declan's story.

"Precisely," her study partner smiled. "Having unsuspecting children take the responsibility of their parents? No one would be the wiser."

"We've been training for this day since we could hold weapons," Colin also smiled.

Ryder recalled that Legolas said most of the Fenlocks were loyal to the crown. Declan's family might not have all of its members on the same page as far as which side to fight with. His family who remained loyal to Gondor's true rulers either tried to keep the side of their family who have gone astray a secret from the public or really knew nothing about their betrayal.

"How are you and the rest of your friends involved in this?" she asked Colin. Declan's story made enough sense from what he believed who should rule but Colin, Luka, and even Sard's involvement she still didn't quite get.

"Our families have been friends and close allies for generations. Our fathers believed life was better in Gondor when the Stewards ruled. We were richer and more powerful. We lost most of our estates when Aragorn returned but we still got to keep our…pride and dignity," Colin replied bitterly.

"And what exactly are you planning to do? Kill everyone that's not in favor of the Stewards?" Ryder gave them both a skeptical look. She understood that the Stewards sought revenge because power was taken from them, but it was power they were never meant to keep. "From what I saw in the Reunited Kingdom their armies are vast. Do you really have enough people in your faction to stand against them?"

"People? No." Declan shook his head. "But who said we were merely using people?"

"What? Wait—" Ryder stood. "You mean…Trolls. You're planning on using the Trolls." Sard's involvement also made sense now. Trolls were the perfect allies. With their type of personalities and wanting to dominate against other races, they were most likely promised some kind of reward or rank if the faction succeeded. But she wondered what they got out of it if things went south.

"Not just Trolls," added Colin. "Any race that's willing to join in our cause."

"For a price, I'm sure," she made a face. Replaying the information she heard back in her mind, Ryder paused. There was one thing that didn't make sense. "What did you also mean by when Aragorn returned? Hasn't he been in Gondor this whole time working against the Stewards faction?"

Declan and Colin smirked at each other. Declan stepped closer to her. "I'll tell you what. If you survive this night, I'll let you ask him."

The blue-eyed girl took a step back. This wasn't the Declan she knew. The boy she met was sweet and charming. She knew he was a little mischievous. But not like this. This Declan was more mature and well poised. The change in their personality was possibly how they really were as people. The nobility about them emerged. Ryder remembered how Colin spoke to Sard during their gathering in Mirkwood Forest. She felt angry at herself for being fooled into thinking either one was a friend.

Her intuition was never wrong and the way she started to feel about her friendship with Declan was something she shouldn't have ignored. "What do you plan on doing with me?" she asked. She balled her fists to keep them from shaking.

Colin snorted. "Hold you for ransom. What else?"

"You mean…you're not going to kill me? I thought that was the point of your whole plan?"

"Oh, don't worry, my dear Ryder. Isildur's line will end with your blood. However, there are still a few others ahead of you on our list of people to eliminate." Declan gave her a sinister smile.

"You might not die tonight. But who says we can't have a little fun with you?" Colin produced a short dagger from his back pocket and took a step toward her.

"Wait!" She turned to Declan. "What about the connection we had? I thought you…liked me?" Ryder gave him a sad look and quivered her lower lip as if she was holding back tears. She thought looking more helpless would buy her some time to figure out a plan.

"I did," Declan stood in front of her. She looked up at him and searched his hazel eyes. The boy she knew was gone. Only determination and revenge was what she saw. He caressed her cheek and leaned in. Ryder closed her eyes thinking he was going to kiss her again. But he pulled away and turned his back on her. "I know you have feelings for Legolas. If you were devoted me to, I might have been able to keep you alive. However, that is not your fate." He then turned to Colin, "Make sure her face is still recognizable."

"I'll do my best," Colin said smiling. He licked the top of the blade and marched toward Ryder. "Too bad. You're a very beautiful girl." Declan already disappeared through the woods when she glanced back.

"Colin, please don't do this!" she pleaded. Fear was evident in her eyes. "I didn't even know who I was until I started at this school. If you let me go, I promise I'll leave and disappear and never tell anyone where I am—not even Legolas or Aragorn. I'll even change my name. Just please…let me go."

He shook his head and scratched the scar on his eyebrow with his weapon. "Letting you go is not an option when my life is at stake. I let you go, Declan has my head."

"I can't believe you're taking orders from Declan," she scoffed. "You're the one who should be telling him what to do. You're doing all the dirty work while he keeps his hands clean. Who do you think will take the blame if your plan backfires? You must know that Declan has some kind of backup plan for himself that doesn't include any of you."

"And you think I don't have a backup plan of my own?" he chuckled. "Even if we were all childhood friends it is every man for himself. That's how war is. And no matter who we have on our side, the rulers in the other realms want nothing to do with our cause. It's more trouble for them siding with us because of Thranduil's influence. If their people turn on us I am not waiting around to see the end results."

"If you give up now, there's a good chance they'll be lenient on you. Think about your future, Colin." Ryder tried to plead one last time.

"Leniency for betraying the crown? I do not think so." Colin grabbed Ryder's arm and took a swing at her face.

Ryder dodged the attack and turned his grip against him. She grabbed hold of his forearm, twisted him around, and knocked him down on the ground. She put one knee on his arm where he held his weapon and elbowed him in the chest just because she felt like it. Colin got the wind knocked out of him, dropping the dagger.

"Pleading with you was more of a warning," she told him with a sarcastic smile. He squirmed under her hold but she only shook her head at his attempt. The blue-eyed girl felt like lead on top of him. "I've been training half my life to defend myself against people like you. Do you really think I would make it that easy for you? Have you forgotten what I did to Sard?"

Violence never solved anything from what her father taught her. She always suppressed what she knew because she didn't want to hurt people with the kind of power she possessed. There was strength in her that surged out when her adrenaline was pumping.

During certain sparing lessons, she also found herself moving quicker and lighter than her father. Such skills wouldn't have been out of the ordinary if she didn't see people's actions in slow motion before she went to attack. It didn't happen often, but when it did…it scared her. She learned to hone her skills with practice and was thankful for the Buddhist monks who helped her pay attention to the elements around her.

"Get off me!" Colin said through gritted teeth. She pushed herself off, kicking the knife away toward the bushes. He jumped up, rubbing his arm and chest with a glare. "Fine. Walk way. Leave. I'll tell Declan Legolas followed you or something so I had no choice but to let you go."

"Well, how kind of you," she replied sardonically.

It was ironic that he was now the one afraid of her. Ryder tried to stall to get as much information as she could from them. Once Declan left, she thought she could get more from Colin, but he wasn't as interested in sharing information like his comrade. She hoped her inkling about Declan wasn't true, but deep down she knew there was something off when she saw him in Ithilien.

Declan said he helped extinguish the fire in the barn so it was only natural to be covered in smoke and ashes. But why did he also smell like gasoline? Only someone who was around the fuel based liquid would smell like that. She thought she was mistaken so she dismissed the idea that Declan could have started the fire.

However, after her nightmare when Lord Elrond left his gas lamp by one of her bedside tables, the smell immediately reminded her of her classmate. If Elrond knew something about the cause of the fire, he wasn't telling anyone. Maybe except for her. She hated to think that Declan was also responsible for Pippin's restaurant burning.

A sudden sharp sound in the air broke her thoughts. She heard Colin yell and fall to the ground. When she spun around, she saw a second dagger a foot away from him and an arrow through his hand. He had another dagger! She looked on in panic. He was about to most likely stab her from behind until she was saved.

Out of the trees came Legolas in his archer uniform and a bow in his hand. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I came as quickly as I could. Luckily, I know the University well. Better than Declan…or his friends." He looked at Colin on the ground and glowered. Colin was quietly whimpering at the pain. The Elf-prince took a clean shot at his good hand. "I heard everything you and Declan said."

"And you only waited until now to appear when you could have had Declan?" Colin said as evenly as he could. Legolas made him sit up. Colin gritted his teeth even more, holding his wrist with his other hand. The only way to remove the arrow is if it were cut or if someone yanked it out. By the look on Legolas's face, he preferred the latter.

"That would have been ideal. But I only just arrived."

"I thought you said you heard everything?" Colin looked at him then at Ryder.

"He did," Ryder replied. She took her cellular phone from her pocket and showed him the minutes ticking on the screen with Legolas's name at the top then hit the end button.

When she put her hands in her pockets after Colin made her sit down, she tried to redial Legolas's number. Because he was the last one she talked to before meeting up with Declan, she only hoped her fingers pressed the right button for the recall so he could hear their plan and with any luck, find her.

"I didn't understand at first why Ryder called me and wasn't replying. But then I heard yours and Declan's voices and knew you were up to something. Because my Elven hearing is better than yours I was able to pick up other background sounds to find you," Legolas added.

"Kill me if you want. I won't tell you where Declan is or what else is store for you," Colin muttered.

"You will be taken back to Middle-earth and dealt with accordingly. Your punishment will be based on the laws of the Reunited Kingdom. Depending on his mood, Faramir can also simply choose to kill you. He has been very stressed lately so I suggest you display a cheerful smile when you face him." Legolas then whistled loudly. Shortly after, Ryder heard a pair of huge wings above them and almost screamed at what she saw land in front of them. "Do not be afraid," he told her.

"Sire," the creature bowed.

"It's a…you're a…gargoyle?" Ryder chocked out. "Why aren't you in disguise? I thought students from other realms couldn't be in their true from on campus?" He was bulky and tall with clawed feet and hands. She felt like an insect next to him.

Thranduil's son lightly patted the creature's shoulder and smiled in her direction. "Goliath and his kin are not students at the University. They are the night security."

"Night security?"

"We are the ones who patrol the school grounds at night," said the creature.

"They turn to stone at sunrise, which is the reason why most students do not know they exist," the prince added.

"You turn to stone at…sunrise? Wait—are you the statues I see all over campus? The ones high on the ledges?" she asked, bewildered.

"Yes, my lady," he also bowed his head to her. "It is a privilege to meet you again."

"Again?"

"Goliath was the one who carried you to the Houses of Healing from Mirkwood Forest," replied Legolas.

"That…was you?" she asked him. She remembered something big carried her away and heard the name Goliath before but didn't know the name belonged to a gargoyle. Ryder thought the statues on campus were hideous and chilling. Never did she imagine she would be talking to one. Up close, Goliath wasn't as dreadful looking as his stone form was. He had kinder eyes.

"Goliath. Please take Colin to the watch tower and keep him there. I will have someone collect him before sunrise."

"Shall his wound also be attended to, sire?" asked Goliath.

"Minimally."

"Yes, sire." Goliath picked up Colin much like he did with Ryder when she was injured and flew up into the night. His massive wing span and strength surprised her. What she thought was a bat hovering over her weeks ago in the fog was probably him or one of his people.

"Are you alright?" Legolas asked again. He examined her with his eyes, keeping his distance.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up," she nodded. Remembering that she could be dead right now paralyzed her in place. "Thank…you."

"Ryder? Look at me." The Elf-prince put down his bow and finally walked over to her. He raised her chin to meet his eyes. She did so hesitantly and saw the concern his blue eyes held. "You are not alright."

She finally broke down and wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed onto his jerkin. Caught by surprise, Legolas steadied himself and protectively wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry out all the stress, frustration, betrayal, and near death experience until she was ready to face the other challenges ahead.

When Ryder calmed down, Legolas handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. "I'm sorry," she hiccupped and wiped her eyes dry.

He gently removed strands of hair from her face where her tears kept them in place. "Sorry for acknowledging your hardships?" When she finally had the courage to look at him again, he only smiled. "You are one of the bravest people I know. There is no shame in recognizing and accepting the adversities we face in life. You have been through more life changing experiences in these last few months than any Elf I know who has lived for centuries—myself included. Be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging him again. He softly kissed her hair, which comforted her more than he could know. "And just so you know…I don't cry in front of people like this."

"Your secret is safe with me," he smiled against her hair. Legolas didn't want to break their moment but the information Declan and Colin revealed needed attention. Ryder understood and headed back with him to his residence, hand-in-hand, to let the others know.

x x x

Author's Note: I wanted to wrap up the last chapter so it made more sense. Now they (you) know Declan is the bad guy they're looking for, things should start moving forward more quickly. And yes, I used Goliath from the television show Gargoyles, which by the way, was an awesome series! Disclaimer where needed.

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