CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Truth Comes Out

Hi there! The chapter we've all been waiting for... God, I've been thinking of how Ariel will find out ever since the prologue of this story and I'm happy with how it turned out. Remember, Ariel is a sceptical being, but after everything she's seen already... Well, I'll just let you read it.

Oh, before I forget: I recently published a short story as well, it's already completed. It's called Breakaway and is about the Flight of the Noldor, with a slightly romantic and tragical touch to it. Go give it a read if it interests you.

Now, on to the story!

Lord Elrond was just as intimidating as Ariel had imagined. His navy robes, nearly midnight blue, were absolutely regal, and he wore a circlet on his head to emphasise it.

The Lord's study was just beautiful. Straight before her was an elevated circular platform, looking out on rock formations and trees. The whole concept of Rivendell's architecture came forth in this place: the barrier between what was inside and that which was outside was blurred. Dried, fallen leaves had been swept inside by the October breeze. To her left, there was a stairway, leading to the gallery above her.

When she looked to her right, she almost bumped into two elves.

Ariel stumbled backwards a bit, ready to apologise, but froze when they seemed to freeze as well.

They were identical, the elves, and the same ones to be on the training grounds earlier. They must've left the grounds earlier than she and Lithir did, otherwise she had no clue how they'd reached this place so quickly.

Both had the same dark, long hair as lord Elrond, and vaguely recalling Dylis had said something once about his two sons, Ariel figured these were the ones.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, side-stepping quickly to let them pass.

The twin elves just smiled tightly, exchanging a look that had Ariel wondering what they had talked about before her arrival.

Or whom.

They walked past, out of the study, and Ariel's gaze lingered on them with a slightly puzzled frown.

She could also not help being in awe, however silly it must be. It seemed that whenever there was an elf in close proximity, her skin decided to flush a cherry red.

Lithir, who was walking behind her, cleared his throat, and Ariel shook herself out of her brief trance.

Dylis was already in the study. She was wearing a dress of a soft yellow colour— something Ariel hadn't thought would suit her so well. She had never seen Dylis in a dress before, but now that she was wearing one, she could pass for a noblewoman.

Dylis smiled at her, though in much the same way as the elves had. Ariel looked the other way.

Angharad was already present as well. Where Dylis had looked fresh and refined, the ranger looked rugged and bloody and dirty. The expression on his face was grave, and Ariel couldn't help the feeling of premonition.

Not sure whether she should follow Lithir or walk to Dylis, she hesitated at the entrance.

Should she curtsy? Should she introduce herself or something? But lord Elrond already knew her name, didn't he?

Fortunately, Lithir stopped as well, and bowed his head. "My Lord," he said.

Lord Elrond smiled, walked around his desk. "Lithir," he greeted. "It is good to see you out of that wheelchair."

Lithir smiled back, though tersely. His eyes were already on Angharad, worrying.

Lord Elrond turned to Ariel. "Miss Ariel," he said with a nod and a smile, "you must forgive me for inviting you only now. Nevertheless, I am pleased to finally meet you."

Ariel fidgeted a bit, her eyes catching Dylis'. The blonde gave her a stern look beckoning her to stop fidgeting and start talking.

"Likewise, my Lord," Ariel said hesitantly. "Thank you for your hospitality, letting us stay here."

Lord Elrond just smiled in reply, then turned to Angharad. Ariel had no idea what to do next, so she just walked over to where Dylis was standing.

The blonde quickly took a carafe with some orange red liquid in it and poured it into a crystal glass.

"Thank you," Ariel said, taking the glass Dylis handed her, but couldn't bring herself to return the smile Dylis gave her.

Lord Elrond was already speaking with Angharad as Ariel took a sip of the sweet, fruity drink.

"Angharad," he said, "you said you had grave news. Please, do tell us."

Angharad cleared his throat, fiddled with the neckline of his tunic. "Lannen was attacked," he said, voice dry as gravel. There was a sharp intake of breath, and Ariel's gaze flickered from Angharad downcast eyes to Lithir's open, enquiring, desperate eyes. When Angharad continued, he tried to come across as professionally as he could, but his voice broke. "Orcs had ravaged and pillaged the village— only few survivors remained."

"Orcs, roaming freely through the forests?" lord Elrond said, incredulity in his voice and on his face. "So far from the mountains?"

Angharad nodded stiffly.

Ariel could only look at Lithir. His eyes were staring numbly at the corner of lord Elrond's desk, as though his mind wasn't here anymore.

"The remainder—" Angharad swallowed, started again. "The remainder of the villagers have gone to the Angle."

"But that is even closer to the mountains," lord Elrond said.

Angharad nodded again. "I am aware," he said. "However, the Angle is the largest settlement of our people. I have no doubt they will be able to fend off the orcs, should there be another ambush."

There was a silence. Ariel wondered why she was here. Certainly she wasn't important enough to hear this kind of news? It wasn't as though she was an… an adviser or a warrior. And Dylis wasn't one as well, so… why did lord Elrond think it necessary for them to be here?

Lord Elrond broke the silence. "This is grave news indeed," he said.

"There is something else, my Lord," Angharad continued. "According to Halbarad's son, they didn't just plunder without purpose. They… they were looking for something. Or someone."

Angharad's eyes flickered to where Dylis and Ariel stood, and Ariel's brows furrowed in confusion. Automatically, she shot a glance at Dylis.

But the blonde had become utterly still.

"Arradon overheard them," Angharad said, eyes dead-set on Dylis and Ariel, "talking about having to find two girls. Easily recognised by a ring around one's finger."

Ariel nearly choked on her drink.

There was a clang when lord Elrond set down his own goblet on the desk. He didn't look at her or Dylis, but his entire demeanour was tense as he said, "Thank you, Angharad, for your report." His eyes flickered sympathetically to Lithir. "Now, rest. You must have had a long and trying journey to Imladris."

Angharad nodded and sent one last suspicious look to Dylis and Ariel. When he turned around to walk away, he guided Lithir with him.

Ariel watched as they went out of the study. Angharad put a hand on Lithir's shoulder, whispering something she couldn't hear. Lithir's shoulders began to shake, and it seemed his knees could buckle from underneath him any moment as he buried his head in his face.

Then, the doors closed.

Ariel felt as though she had swallowed a rock. When she turned her gaze back to lord Elrond, his eyes were on the door as well, a sorrowful look on his face.

There was a tense silence in lord Elrond's study. Ariel was shaken out of her reverie when Dylis raked a hand through her hair. The conversation coming back to her now, she faced lord Elrond with a confused frown on her face.

"My lord," Ariel said, looking up at him, "those... orcs— how—"

"I do not know either," he said, leaning against his desk wearily. "I do not know why they thought you might reside in Lannen." He paused for a second. "But before we discuss that, I am aware we must explain some things to you, miss Ariel. Or perhaps I should say 'lady,'" he added.

Ariel's eyebrows shot up.

Dylis sighed and nodded. "Yes, I suppose explanation are in order," she said, looking at her glass as though it was more interesting than Ariel's eyes.

Ariel, feeling emboldened by the idea she would finally be enlightened, straightened. "For once I agree with you, Dyl."

Dylis rubbed her face wearily before letting her arm fall along her side. "Look, I know I haven't been… entirely honest lately," she started.

Ariel snorted despite herself. "Understatement of the year," she muttered underneath her breath.

"But," Dylis continued, "there is a reason. First, I needed to convince lord Elrond that our story is true. I needed to be certain we wouldn't be seen as some delirious maniacs whom nobody believed."

Ariel folded her arms across her chest. "I could've helped you with that," she said. "We're in this together— you said so yourself."

"Yes, I know," Dylis said, now sounding slightly exasperated. "But there are things I haven't… there are things you need to know. Things I have been tossing and turning about in bed because I have no clue how to tell you about it."

Ariel opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes flickered to lord Elrond, who'd been watching them with remote interest. When he provided neither input nor reassurance, Ariel looked back at Dylis with narrowing eyes.

"You're kind of worrying me, Dyl," she said, putting aside her glass of fruit juice.

Dylis was fidgeting. Actually fidgeting with the end of her sleeves. Her expression was a mixture of anxiousness and shame.

Ariel felt a feeling of dread settle in her stomach. She'd imagined Dylis was hiding something from her, but this looked pretty serious. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to hear what she was going to tell her.

"Before I tell you," Dylis said, "you must know that it is, for once the truth. You must also know that I asked lord Elrond for help, but that he has nothing to do with this. He can only provide proof."

Ariel felt like taking a step back at the seriousness of it all. "Do I— do I need to sit down for this?" she asked. When Dylis quickly scanned the room for one, Ariel held up her hands. "I was just kidding. You know, to break the tension."

When Dylis laughed at that, it sounded hysterical and hollow at the same time. Ariel was definitely worried now.

Dylis took a deep breath, clamping her hands in front of her, seemingly to keep them from shaking. "Lord Elrond is right," she said, finally looking Ariel in the eyes. "He should address you with 'lady.' In fact, he should address you as 'Her Royal Highness.'"

For a few seconds, all Ariel could do was stare at Dylis. The words seemed to take ages for her to sink in.

"I'm sorry," she said. "What?"

Dylis wasn't looking as if she'd just made a joke. In truth, she looked dead serious. Lord Elrond was looking at her as if he'd expected no different reaction from her.

"You're a— you're a princess, Ariel," Dylis said.

Ariel just laughed. "I'm a princess?" she repeated incredulously. "Come on. Me? A princess?"

She looked from Dylis to lord Elrond. Then back to Dylis.

And then to lord Elrond again.

They looked utterly serious.

Ariel felt like laughing again, just to get rid of the sudden tense awkwardness in the room, but the look in their faces was just too earnest, too resolute to laugh at.

Ariel spluttered, blood draining from her face. "I'm… I'm a princess?" she said again, tone entirely different now.

Dylis nodded.

Ariel burst out in half-sentences and questions. "How? When— how did I— where—"

"That's, uhm, the funny thing, really," Dylis interrupted, again looking at lord Elrond as if she needed some assistance. The elf-lord remained stubbornly quiet, though. "The kingdom is called Arthedain."

"I've never heard of Arthedine," Ariel said.

"No, you haven't," Dylis said, shaking her head, fumbling with something in her hand. Ariel caught a glint of green. "That's because it doesn't exist. At least, not anymore." She paused, and only now could Ariel see what was in her hand. It was her ring, which she thought she'd lost. "And it doesn't exist on the maps you're used to."

Ariel's eyes shot back to Dylis'. Her brows furrowed deep. "What are you saying, Dylis?" she asked her.

"What I'm saying is that you're a princess of a kingdom that used to exist here, in Middle Earth."

Ariel couldn't describe what was going on in her head. It was a mishmash of thoughts, of images, of stories Dylis used to tell her. She just knew that for a long, long moment, no words could escape her mouth.

She watched numbly as Dylis opened her palm. Ariel's ring, which she'd gotten from Dylis, glinted in the soft glow of a candle holder on a nearby wall. "This ring," Dylis said, swallowing thickly as she watched Ariel in concern, "was given to your mother by your father. It is an heirloom, and it has a brother called the Ring of Barahir.

"For the past days," she continued tentatively, "I have been trying to convince lord Elrond it is the true heirloom, not a… a fake as he at first believed. When the goldsmith finally could confirm it was the real heirloom, only then did he start to believe me." She turned to lord Elrond. "For which I do not blame you, my Lord. It is quite a difficult story to believe," she said quickly. "But Ariel, you… you are a princess, and I have sworn your parents, the King and Queen of Arthedain, to protect you from any harm. You must believe me. I would never lie to you."

Ariel looked at her numbly, her mind torn. This seemed a story too far-fetched to believe. A story made for books or movies.

"If what you say is true," she said, "it seems you have lied to me my whole life."

She turned away, nodded at lord Elrond. "If you will excuse me, my Lord," she said.

Then she walked out of the study, feeling stiff and numb and ice-cold anger.

o0o

"Ariel!"

Ariel took the steps of the staircase two at the time, making her way to… to anywhere.

"Ariel!"

She ignored Dylis, but a moment later a hand yanked at her arm.

"What, Dylis?" she demanded, her voice coming out louder than she'd expected.

Dylis looked at her, despair in her wide eyes. "I just—" she started, swallowed and started over. "I need to know if you believe me."

Ariel glared at her. "That's all you have to say?" she asked. "No 'I'm sorry I lied to you for your whole life'?"

Dylis' shoulders sagged. But then she looked at Ariel hopefully. "So you believe me?" she asked.

Ariel yanked her arm free from her hold. "I'm not sure yet," she said. "Just… just don't come looking for me. I don't want you near me right now."

Hurt flashed across Dylis' face, but Ariel felt nothing. She stalked away, leaving Dylis alone in the corridor.

o0o

When Dylis returned to the study, lord Elrond was patiently waiting for her. He gave her a sympathetic smile when he saw she was alone.

Dylis sat down on one of the chairs near the many book cases. She clasped her hands tightly to keep them from shaking. The inside of cheek felt raw from biting on it too hard. The elf lord couldn't help but pity her. The past few days had been hard on her, trying to convince him of the validity of her story and the ring.

Naturally, he couldn't deny Dylis' story. She was sitting here, more than a thousand years after her presumed death, after all. Yet, when she first came in to tell her story, it seemed too absurd to be plausible.

And now Ariel, the lost princess of Arthedain, was faced with the same incredibility of it.

He gave Dylis a few more seconds to compose herself. In that, she had not changed. During her and her father's visits, he had not often talked with Dylis except during dinner. Yet she was often the subject of the conversations he had with lord Brychan; he was a proud father. He had often told lord Elrond of how much Dylis looked like her mother, and seeing as the elf lord had known her before she died it meant that Dylis was loyal and brave— but also had a tendency to push emotions and feelings away. This very moment, he could see something of her mother in Dylis.

Strange how the memories he had not thought about for centuries now came drifting back to the surface.

"She will need time," he finally said, approaching her and taking a seat opposite of her.

Dylis drew a deep breath and nodded. "You are right," she said, her voice just a little bit hoarse. "I should give her time."

"It might take a while," lord Elrond warned, eyeing her meaningfully.

Dylis sighed, resigned. "I know."

Lord Elrond assessed her for a second longer. Then he addressed the topic he had been wanting to broach ever since Angharad left the room. "How is it that orcs raiding Dúnedain villages know of your existence?"

Dylis looked up slowly. The expression on her face was pained— guilty. "I feared this would happen," she admitted.

Lord Elrond cocked an eyebrow, carefully not showing the concern and dread he felt. "That what would happen?" he demanded, his voice more stern and authoritative than before.

Dylis pursed her lips. "When King Arvedui and Queen Fíriel asked me and my father to bring their children to Lindon, they handed me one of the last remaining Palantíri." Lord Elrond drew in a sharp breath. "It was meant for the King and Queen to be able to communicate with lord Círdan and their children." She lowered her head in shame. "But I failed. When Ariel and I arrived in Provincetown, I kept the Palantír a secret. I put it out of reach from anyone— but I couldn't help but take a look at it sometimes. I thought that perhaps I could let the King and Queen know that we were safe, that we weren't dead as they would probably think…

"But now I realise time went much faster for you than for me," Dylis said, shaking her head. "When I finally dared to look into the Palantír, which was only half a year after my arrival in Provincetown, nearly 34 years had passed on Middle Earth. I calculated," she added somewhat sheepishly. "By then, Arnor had already fallen, according to the books I told you about. I didn't know back then. I kept trying, but I couldn't see anything— until one night I saw…" She trailed off. It wasn't the Eye of Sauron she'd seen. It was a dark place, yes, but even then she had figured out it was another dark soul she'd seen, with his own plans and schemes. She couldn't tell lord Elrond, though. "I saw utter darkness. It was faint and far off, but it was dark… evil. I was aware enough of my surroundings to throw something over it before the person on the other side could see any more. I never touched the Stone again."

There was a silence for a long while, and Dylis couldn't look lord Elrond in the eyes.

She hadn't told anyone of the Palantír, not even Will. One time, Abby had commented something about a feeling some sort of dark energy in the house, and Dylis had removed the Stone from the house's attic the next day. The garden shed hadn't been finished back then, but the flooring was done, and secretly, Dylis had created a small hole underneath the wooden floor, where she'd put away in a bundle. As far as she knew, the Seeing Stone was still there.

"So you are telling me," lord Elrond said, dread and anger tangible in his voice and countenance, "that Sauron knows of your existence and your knowledge of how this supposed war ends?"

Dylis bit her lips. "I am not certain whether it was him, my Lord," she said hesitantly.

"Well, who else could it have been?" he demanded.

"I— I do not know," she said. She couldn't tell him it was Saruman. He wasn't supposed to know yet. It was Gandalf who would tell him about Saruman's treachery, not her. "And I do not know how much they saw either. It may be a Palantír, but seeing across worlds… that would be an enormous feat."

Lord Elrond sagged into his seat tiredly. "But they know you are here, in Middle Earth," he said, rubbing the space between his brows. "The orcs were raiding the villages because they thought you were there— and they were not far from the truth."

Dylis shivered at the thought of meeting those orcs face to face during their tough journey to Rivendell. She also shivered at the thought that Saruman must've seen more than she had initially thought. According to Angharad, they knew of Ariel's ring, and of Ariel herself. Had he somehow been able to penetrate Dylis' mind? But how did he know they were here? The Palantír was not here, it was safely hidden.

Lord Elrond eyed her warily. "You are not telling me everything," he said suddenly.

Dylis looked up, trying to keep her face from betraying the fear the felt. "I am telling you everything I can," she said, sort of speaking the truth.

His eyes were still narrowed as he regarded her, but then he sighed, for now accepting she wasn't going to reveal more. They had discussed her knowledge before, and she had told him sternly that she wasn't to be pushed to reveal anything of the future. She would only tell him out of her own free will.

"I will tell you more when Gandalf arrives," she told him, allowing to give him that piece of information.

"So he will come," lord Elrond murmured. "Good. I had feared some sort of ill may have befallen him."

Dylis kept her face carefully blank. "He will come."

After her meeting with lord Elrond, she had to restrain herself from seeking out Ariel straight away.

It was already late in the afternoon, and Dylis pondered what she should do. She had not visited Lithir yet, but he was most likely mourning whomever he had lost in the orc raid. She felt a pang of guilt at that. If it hadn't been for her, the village would not have been attacked by orcs in search for her and Ariel.

Only now she realised the impact of what she had done. Only now did she realise how foolish it was to look into that Seeing Stone. She had known of Saruman's possession of the Orthanc-stone; she knew that the one that once resided in Minas Ithil was taken by Sauron now that that city had become Minas Morgul. But hope and despair had driven her to do exactly what was worst for all of Middle Earth. Saruman— and perhaps even Sauron— knew of their existence, and the fact that orcs were raiding villages for her and Ariel had Dylis concluding either Saruman or Sauron or both wanted to use her knowledge against all the Free Peoples of Middle Earth.

Ever since Angharad had told them about the orcs mentioning her and Ariel, things had gotten much more complicated than Dylis had hoped for.

Surprised by the minor plot twist? Yeah, me too. Only came up with it while writing the chapter, lol.

It might be worth mentioning that I've taken all the information about the Palantíri out of the Unfinished Tales- I just altered some of it. Also, this chapter might reassure some of you; we haven't seen all of Will yet!

Please review! RunningGolden, Julsalthil, and loserbopeep, thanks for taking the time to review, you guys make me so happy.

xoxo