A/N: Okay, I know many of you were waiting for this chapter and I have to apologize. I got food poisoning the day before Christmas Eve and I am now only recovering from it (some Christmas present, LOL!). I was feeling a bit better this morning so decided to tackle this chapter before anyone else starts cursing me. Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Sanely Challenged: Thanks for the heads up on my grammar. You'd make a great beta reader!
Chapter 24
Three days had passed since Elyse and the Yalith sisters had disappeared, and Legolas was no closer to finding them than when he had first found the forged messages. After discovering that Ziendriel had been taken, he had holed himself up in his father's study, poring over what clues he did have in an attempt to locate her. But, the attempts of logic always failed and the prince would only become more and more frustrated and worried.
As of yet, they had not received a ransom note from the abductor, nor had they been able to discover his identity. Whoever he was (Gragoc had ascertained the abductor to be a male by the way the footprints he had tracked were positioned as its owner walked; it was his way of making up for missing the forged parchment under the bush) was clever and tidy; other than his gender, that was all they could tell about him. There were no other clues. It frustrated and annoyed Legolas to the point of insanity. Why could he not figure this out?
It frightened him that the lives of three maidens were upon his head. He had never felt so responsible for anything else before and disliked the fact that he had no control over the situation. His sense of responsibility came from the fact that it had been his named forged on those messages, his father's seals that had convinced all three ladies that he had been the author of those requests. Unfortunately, it made sense as to why he had been chosen as the deceiver: all three maidens were in some way connected to him.
It was no secret that both Elyse and Ariel had had designs on him since they had come of age. He had seen the way they'd looked at him, the playful winks, the open flirting. They were both beautiful maidens, he could not deny that. But, with both, there had been no connection, no bond to his heart.
It was not so with Ziendriel.
Legolas smiled as he thought of her, images floating before his eyes. He loved Ziendriel, loved her in a way that he had never experienced before with any other maiden. When he looked upon her or had her in his thoughts, his heart would immediately contract and he felt as if he held the sun within his body, allowing it to warm his blood and bones. He knew that if it was required of him, he would gladly lay his life down for her, gladly take any pain from her if he could. He would do all that for her and more, if she asked.
Since her kidnapping, Legolas had thought of nothing else but her. He worried that he was not doing enough to save her and that because of it, she was suffering. That thought nearly broke his heart. From their time together, he knew that she could never intentionally hurt anyone. She had taken a vow as a Healer, a protector of life and took to her cause quite faithfully. She showed it through the actions of her very life, which made him believe she would never be the recipient of cruelty.
Legolas felt his frown return. But, she has received cruelty, he thought, his frown deepening, by my hands and the hands of those she called friends. I will forever regret the pain our careless actions have caused her. She is more deserving than that! He shook his head as the image of Ziendriel's eyes came before him, full of hurt, betrayal and humiliation. "Forgive me, melamin," he whispered, as the memory faded away, "Forgive a foolish prince his follies." He paused for a moment, then looked up to the great ceiling of the room, his eyes pleading. "My vow to you, oh great Valar!" he exclaimed, "Is that I will cherish and love this maiden who has so fully captured my heart and soul….if only you will return her to me." The last part was whispered, as he felt the tears sting his eyes. Hastily, he wiped them away with the back of his hand.
A discreet cough from the doorway caused him to quickly turn. "Come in, my friends," he called, motioning the three figures that stood awkwardly at the door.
Gragoc entered first, followed by Lorith, then Jhad. "Forgive us, my prince," he apologized, bowing, "We did not mean to overhear." He looked abashed.
Legolas favored them with a smile. "There is nothing to apologize for, my friend," he answered, "Perhaps the Valar will take your witness to my vow into consideration and grant me my heart's desire." He smiled again, clasping his arm in greeting.
Lorith frowned. "I do not like hearing you speak in such a way," he said, softly, "As if there is no hope for our Ziendriel." He frowned again and cast his eyes to the floor. Besides Legolas, he appeared to be taking her disappearance very hard.
"I apologize, Lorith," Legolas said, turning to him, "I do not mean to upset you. I fear my logic has gone with the wind and left my head with no ideas. This mystery greatly displeases me, but I assure you that hope still survives in my heart." He clapped his friend's shoulder.
Jhad stepped forward. "Hope you shall have, then," he said, smiling slightly, "For I bring news. After questioning your courier, it was discovered that another instructed Yirit to deliver all three scrolls to the ladies. He goes by the name of Grien, another courier, but he is lower in ranking. Apparently, he convinced Yirit that you had sent word that the messages be delivered according to your specific instructions."
Legolas felt his heart leap. "Have you questioned Grien?" he demanded, eagerly.
Jhad slowly shook his head. "He has disappeared as well," he answered, "One of the stable hands reported seeing him leave the morning after the kidnappings were discovered. He was heading east; we've already sent a party after him."
"Why did he leave?" Legolas asked, puzzled.
"He gave no reason," Jhad answered, "Which makes the suspicion around him grow. We have many questions to ask and I feel he is the key."
Legolas nodded. "I agree," he replied, "Send me word when he has been found and returned." He felt the hope grow within his chest and held onto it. This hope was the only thing keeping him sane and preventing him from tearing the entire kingdom apart. If Grien held the answers to this mystery than Legolas would make sure that the courier would be found.
Jhad nodded and began to walk towards the door. Gragoc and Lorith began to follow him with the intent of continuing their investigation, when Lorith suddenly gave a shout of surprise. "Ed' i'ear ar' elenea! (By the sea and stars!)" he exclaimed, stopping in his tracks, "Why did I not see it before?" He was standing at the king's desk, which held three scrolls as evidence.
The other three gathered around him. "What did you not see before?" Gragoc demanded. He, too, stared at the papers, trying to see what his friend was in uproar over.
Lorith grabbed one scroll and held it up before them. "The parchment!" he answered, triumphantly. At his friends' blank stares, he gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you not remember what your father has told us?" he asked Legolas, "Each noble family is given a parchment of their family crest colors. The dominant color is always mixed in as the paper is made. It has saved time on printing each family's crest on the paper. Do you not see? We had another clue right under our noses!"
Legolas grabbed the paper away. "He is right!" he exclaimed, his eyes growing wide with amazement. He smiled, then playfully pushed him. "Why can you not be intelligent all of the time?" he demanded, chuckling.
Lorith pretended to glare at him. "Who has said I am not?" he shot back. He was glad to see his friend once again smile.
It was Gragoc who truly glared. "Fools!" he yelled, "You are wasting time! We must go to the king with this news!" He grabbed the paper from Legolas and stormed out of the room.
Legolas chuckled. "It is fortunate he is my friend," he told the others, as they exited the room, "Or he would soon find his body without his head."
Jhad grinned. "Remind me to stay on your good side," he laughed.
Ziendriel was crying. She was cold, alone, dirty and hungry, and had been since first discovering of Adrianna's plan to kill her. Many hours had passed since that encounter and Ziendriel could now fully accept her fate as she glanced around her miserable surroundings.
She was going to die.
By what way her fate was to be sealed, she did not know, for both the cruelty in the beatings that the lady gave her and the starvation she was submitted to were slowly whittling at her body.
Adrianna had returned several times after revealing herself, only to throw a few scraps of food at her captive. The food always came in a sack, accompanied by taunts on jeers. And every time, Ziendriel had struggled to open the bag with her teeth, only discover the food within to be old and moldy or perhaps infested with maggots. It became frustrating, to say the least, and after the fourth time, Ziendriel no longer bothered.
She was going to die.
No matter what hope she had had, the reality of it all was slowly breaking her down. Adrianna had assured her that although Legolas knew she was missing, he did not know where she was.
"In fact," Adrianna had said, confident in herself, "I do not believe he knows this place exists!" She had gestured around the cave with a laugh.
That statement had dropped Ziendriel's spirits considerably. She knew that Legolas was an intelligent Elf, but how could one as smart as he find her when he did not know where to look?
If he desired to find her.
Stop it! Her heart scolded, You must not think that way! Since the beginning of her imprisonment, Ziendriel had held onto the hope that Legolas did love her and was out looking for her. But, as the hours had drawn and Adrianna's taunts grew more malicious, Ziendriel had felt that hope slowly being taken away. Her heart was now clutching onto that small belief, often screaming it at her like a mantra over the loud, logical thoughts of her mind.
"I want to die," she now murmured, her head against the straw that served as her bed. She was painfully hungry and her wrists and ankles were still tightly bound and tied. The ropes had held fast and were now covered in the dried blood from her raw wrists and ankles. There were bruises on her face from the daily beatings Adrianna delighted in giving her, mixing the old bruises with that of fresh ones. She looked the part of a miserable wretch and felt like one, too.
Ziendriel stared at the torch burning so low, her eyes glazing over. She watched the flame sway and dance, mesmerizing her, allowing her thoughts of her predicament to be placed at the back of her mind. She felt the pain of her body ebb away, leaving her completely numb to everything around her. She heard her breathing slow and steady and closed her eyes.
She realized she had fallen back into her old habits, utilizing a meditation trick Lord Elrond had taught during her years as his apprentice. It had served to calm even the most hysterical patients and she had, much to Elrond's delight, become a master of it.
Elrond.
Ziendriel thought of her master, imagining him standing before her. She imagined the pity and disappointment in his eyes as he looked upon her, then slowly looked away. She thought of him as her second father, as one who had much to do with her upbringing. Seeing those emotions suddenly stabbed at her heart.
She allowed the image of Elrond to be replaced by that of her sister Ariel. So beautiful and charming, Ziendriel feared the treatment that she was receiving from Adrianna. Ziendriel felt a pain of guilt as she thought of her sister suffering because of her.
That image faded and Ziendriel gasped as she saw Legolas standing before her, his eyes full of sadness. It was much like the look he had given her when she had told him she would never forgive him. Ziendriel looked into those eyes and felt her heart leap. So handsome and regal, so loving and kind was her Legolas. She freely admitted that he held her heart and knew that if she was to truly die, nothing would change. Not her feelings, nor her heart. She loved him and she would die happy with that knowledge, no matter how harsh her end.
She was saddened by the thought that someone such as Adrianna would lay claim to him in his time of grief. To use his grief, his sadness as a means to her plan was unforgivable. The she-elf was full of hate and bitterness, not to mention jealousy; how could her true self not be revealed to Legolas?
Ziendriel felt a spark of anger light within her heart. Legolas was not a mere plaything to be manipulated and tricked into something and Adrianna was sadly mistaken if he was going to fall prey to her! The thought of Adrianna simpering and offering comfort to the prince was infuriating, and for the first time since her ordeal, Ziendriel felt her blood boiling.
How dare she take advantage of an innocent! She thought, And how dare she hurt others in order to do so! Ariel, Legolas, even Elyse; they do not deserve this treatment!
It was with the maddening image of Adrianna touching Legolas that Ziendriel came to a decision: somehow she was going to get out of that cave and prevent anymore suffering of her loved ones by the hands of Adrianna Roseleaf. She did not know how, but she was now determined to do whatever it took. Adrianna was not going to get what she wanted; not this time.
She will have to kill me first! She thought.