6. Betrayal
That evening, Gelmir wanted Eilian to come with him to join in the dancing that would take place in the woods in honor of the spring, but Eilian was not in the mood for such light-hearted play. "Take Arramiel," he said. "I am sure that she would be more than happy to have you ask her."
"She is busy with Lady Galenadiual," Gelmir answered. "Besides, I told you. She scares me."
Eilian laughed and sent his friend on his way alone. He decided he would get a book from the library and take it into the Great Hall to read near the fire. There would be no one in the Hall tonight; everyone would be at the dancing. Mirkwood's library was not nearly so large as the fabled one he had heard of at Rivendell, but it was adequate for his needs. He found a volume of tales of the First Age and carried it into the Great Hall. The room was darker than usual, for its lamps had not been lit and the only illumination came from the fire in the hearth. So it took him a moment to realize that the room was occupied. On a couch near the hearth sat Thranduil and Galenadiual, their heads bent close together. As Eilian watched, Thranduil ran a finger tip delicately along the edge of Galenadiual's left ear. Embarrassed to have witnessed so intimate a caress, Eilian hastily withdrew, fervently hoping that neither his father nor Galenadiual had heard him.
He paused for a moment in the hallway, recalling how he had told Legolas that it was not their place to judge their father. Confronted by evidence that Thranduil's relationship with Galenadiual was more intimate than he had hoped, Eilian found that while one part of his mind believed his own advice, another part was evidently unrestrained by it. He was both shocked and angry. He pulled his feelings firmly under control and reminded himself that whatever was happening was beyond his direction. Then he took the only course that seemed left to him and retired to his chamber with his book.
An hour later, he contemplated closing the book and retiring for the night. He was so preoccupied with Mirkwood's problems and with his thoughts about his father that he had almost no idea of what had occurred in the pages his eyes had passed over and had not turned a page in fifteen minutes. Trying to sleep seemed equally futile, however. He was roused from his reverie by a commotion in the hall. Alarmed, he jerked open the door to his chamber, only to hear the voices of Legolas and a guard coming through the open door of his father's suite. He hastened through the door into Thranduil's private sitting room to find a rather wild-eyed Legolas struggling with a guard and protesting his need to talk to his father. The guard looked at Eilian in desperate appeal. "Lord Eilian," he pleaded, "the king is not alone."
Before Eilian could act, Thranduil's voice silenced them all. "What is the meaning of this commotion?"
Tying the sash of a night robe, Thranduil stepped into his sitting room and closed the door to his bed chamber behind him. Evidently deciding that they did not need a witness to what would undoubtedly be an unpleasant family scene, Thranduil signaled the guard to release Legolas and then to leave them. Then Thranduil turned to his youngest son and resignedly waited to hear whatever he had to say.
"Adar, I was standing in the shadows on the other side of the bridge-"
"You were where?" Thranduil's voice was ominously low. Eilian flinched. So far as Eilian knew, Legolas was not only not supposed to be out of the palace at night without permission, but was actually still confined to his chamber except when he was at various lessons. Elves seldom strike their young, but Legolas had been more than usually troublesome of late and tonight his timing had evidently been most unfortunate. Thranduil looked as if he was experiencing a strong urge to take a quiver strap to his youngest son's backside.
Legolas swallowed at his father's tone and grim expression. "I was waiting for Annael. We were going to watch the spring dancing. Adar, you can punish me for that, but please, listen to what I have to tell you!"
Thranduil's face turned red as he struggled with his temper. Evidently taking the silence as a signal to continue, Legolas plunged into his story. He had been waiting for Annael near the bridge when he had seen Arramiel come from the palace, and go into the woods, taking a path that ran in the opposite direction from where the dancing was. He had thought that she might be lost, and if she were not, he found her excursion strange enough that he had followed her. She had led him to a small clearing and stood with her hands raised, chanting some sort of incantation in a language that Legolas did not recognize. According to Legolas, the very trees had shuddered at her words and a large, black bird had appeared. Arramiel had offered a tube-like container that the bird took in its claws and flew away with. Arramiel had then returned the way that she had come.
"Are you sure that she entered the palace?" Thranduil asked urgently. Legolas nodded. Thranduil moved to the door and summoned a guard. "Look in Lady Galenadiual's quarters and see if her maidservant is there. If she is, arrest her."
As soon as Legolas had begun his tale, Eilian knew they had their spy. As Galenadiual's maid, Arramiel lived in the family quarters. She could choose her time and slip into Thranduil's study to read dispatches. She could come and go from the palace without her movements being noted. And, Eilian thought, she had been aggressively friendly with Gelmir who had been standing next to Eilian when he fed the false story to Carondo. Gelmir had no idea that there might be a spy in Thranduil's halls and would have seen no reason to refrain from talking about a possible scouting trip to the west. The only question, he thought, was whether she had spied alone.
A soft voice spoke from behind him. "How can this be possible?" In the door to Thranduil's bedchamber stood Galenadiual. She was fully dressed, although the lacings on her green gown had obviously been done up in some haste. Legolas glared at her.
"What have you to do with this, madam?" he spat at her.
Thranduil turned to regard her thoughtfully. Was it possible that Galenadiual was a traitor? Had she been charged with distracting him while Arramiel passed information to the enemy? She looked back at him steadily.
"Given that Arramiel is my servant, I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I swear to you that I was not involved in this. Indeed, when I consider, the Orc attacks that eventually killed my husband and destroyed my home began in earnest after Arramiel entered my service."
At that moment, the guard returned to report that Arramiel had not been found. Thranduil had not defended Mirkwood for centuries by being overly trustful. "Escort Lady Galenadiual to her chamber, and stay with her there," he instructed. "If Arramiel should appear, detain her. Let no harm come to Lady Galenadiual, but do not let her out of your sight either." The guard plainly comprehended the line he was being asked to tread and turned toward Galenadiual.
"Eilian," Thranduil ordered, "fetch Ithilden. Tell him to close the gates and then set his guards to search for Arramiel. I want her found."
Legolas jumped eagerly forward. "I will go with you, Eilian."
"No," Thranduil caught at Legolas's sleeve as he hastened past. He hesitated. He obviously had no intention of allowing Legolas to search for this dangerous woman, but what was he to do with him? Confining him to his chamber would leave him alone and possibly vulnerable and had proven spectacularly ineffective in any case. "You go with the guard and help keep an eye on Lady Galenadiual," he said finally. Eilian, who was on his way out the door to wake Ithilden, had a moment's admiring thought: Thranduil was a master tactician in his struggle with his youngest son.
All flew to do the king's bidding as he went to dress. The next hour was filled with frantic activity as, under Ithilden's command, they searched every inch of the palace, to no avail. Ithilden finally sent Eilian to tell Thranduil of their lack of success and see if he wanted the search extended beyond the gates.
Eilian was hurrying along the hallway of the family quarters when he heard something that sounded like a choked scream. He turned searchingly and then decided that the sound had come from the side corridor along which lay the guest chambers currently occupied by Galenadiual. Cautiously, he approached the door, which was ajar. He peered through the opening to see a scene that froze his blood. Arramiel had somehow made her way to the room. Perhaps she had been hiding somewhere in the family quarters all along. Now she stood behind Galenadiual with one hand gripping her hair and pulling her head back. The other hand held a bloody knife pointed at her mistress's neck. The guard lay in a wounded heap while Legolas was watching Arramiel with a look of utter concentration.
"Elfling," the maidservant commanded him, "get the guard's belt and give it to this whore." She pulled harder on Galenadiual's hair, and the woman gave a little cry. "She will use it to bind your hands." She smiled wickedly. "You and I are going on a little trip, and we do not want to be at odds while we do so." Chillingly, she said nothing of her plans for Galenadiual.
What happened next took place both in slow motion and too quickly to be consciously seen. Arramiel stretched out one foot to kick the guard's sword away so that it would be sure to be out of Legolas's reach when he fetched the guard's belt. As she was off balance, Legolas leapt, pushing Galenadiual to one side and drawing a dagger from his boot. Caught by surprise, Arramiel spun toward him, flicking the knife in a smooth arc that just caught Legolas across the chest, slicing his tunic and drawing a thin line of blood drops. Legolas drew his right elbow back behind his waist and then drove the dagger up under her ribs. With a look of astonishment, Arramiel uttered a single wordless cry and then crumpled slowly to the ground at his feet.
Released from the paralysis that had gripped him, Eilian ran into the room, grabbing Legolas's shoulder with one hand and running the other frantically over his chest. "Are you all right?" he cried. Legolas nodded, seemingly unable to speak. Eilian probed his chest. Legolas winced but the wound seemed to be a scratch only. Galenadiual was bent over the guard who at least was still alive, which was more than Eilian could say for Arramiel, whom he now turned face up on the floor.
Legolas stared at his bloody hand and then at the dead thing that lay before him, at the person who no longer existed because he had driven home a dagger. It was the first time he had killed a creature he did not intend to use as food, the first time he had taken a life without offering a prayer that the creature he hunted would forgive him. And it was a woman. His body rebelled at the knowledge. He stumbled to the washstand and vomited helplessly. Galenadiual moved to his side, caught back his hair, and murmured words too soft for even Eilian to hear.
*******
Again, my thanks to all readers and reviewers. One more chapter to go!
Willowtwig and Imbefaniel: Did it turn out as you thought it would? My hope is that you were close but not exactly on target.
JastaElf: You have been consistently supportive and generous to a new writer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Nilmandra: I can't believe how nice you've been about recommending this story and continuing to review it. Like Jasta, you're a gift to new authors!
Finnov: You wanted a chapter from the POV of someone other than Eilian, and the next chapter (the last one) will provide that. I'm afraid it won't be the one you wanted though. For that, imagine that Thranduil was just as sharp tongued with Legolas as he was with Eilian and that he then imposed the ME equivalent of grounding. In the next chapter, he gets a little more creative in his punishments. Maybe that will please you.
Jenolas: Thank you for the reassurance about the pacing. I tend to be in a hurry and cannot imagine writing the long fics that some of my most admired authors produce. But you made me feel better about my own pace.
That evening, Gelmir wanted Eilian to come with him to join in the dancing that would take place in the woods in honor of the spring, but Eilian was not in the mood for such light-hearted play. "Take Arramiel," he said. "I am sure that she would be more than happy to have you ask her."
"She is busy with Lady Galenadiual," Gelmir answered. "Besides, I told you. She scares me."
Eilian laughed and sent his friend on his way alone. He decided he would get a book from the library and take it into the Great Hall to read near the fire. There would be no one in the Hall tonight; everyone would be at the dancing. Mirkwood's library was not nearly so large as the fabled one he had heard of at Rivendell, but it was adequate for his needs. He found a volume of tales of the First Age and carried it into the Great Hall. The room was darker than usual, for its lamps had not been lit and the only illumination came from the fire in the hearth. So it took him a moment to realize that the room was occupied. On a couch near the hearth sat Thranduil and Galenadiual, their heads bent close together. As Eilian watched, Thranduil ran a finger tip delicately along the edge of Galenadiual's left ear. Embarrassed to have witnessed so intimate a caress, Eilian hastily withdrew, fervently hoping that neither his father nor Galenadiual had heard him.
He paused for a moment in the hallway, recalling how he had told Legolas that it was not their place to judge their father. Confronted by evidence that Thranduil's relationship with Galenadiual was more intimate than he had hoped, Eilian found that while one part of his mind believed his own advice, another part was evidently unrestrained by it. He was both shocked and angry. He pulled his feelings firmly under control and reminded himself that whatever was happening was beyond his direction. Then he took the only course that seemed left to him and retired to his chamber with his book.
An hour later, he contemplated closing the book and retiring for the night. He was so preoccupied with Mirkwood's problems and with his thoughts about his father that he had almost no idea of what had occurred in the pages his eyes had passed over and had not turned a page in fifteen minutes. Trying to sleep seemed equally futile, however. He was roused from his reverie by a commotion in the hall. Alarmed, he jerked open the door to his chamber, only to hear the voices of Legolas and a guard coming through the open door of his father's suite. He hastened through the door into Thranduil's private sitting room to find a rather wild-eyed Legolas struggling with a guard and protesting his need to talk to his father. The guard looked at Eilian in desperate appeal. "Lord Eilian," he pleaded, "the king is not alone."
Before Eilian could act, Thranduil's voice silenced them all. "What is the meaning of this commotion?"
Tying the sash of a night robe, Thranduil stepped into his sitting room and closed the door to his bed chamber behind him. Evidently deciding that they did not need a witness to what would undoubtedly be an unpleasant family scene, Thranduil signaled the guard to release Legolas and then to leave them. Then Thranduil turned to his youngest son and resignedly waited to hear whatever he had to say.
"Adar, I was standing in the shadows on the other side of the bridge-"
"You were where?" Thranduil's voice was ominously low. Eilian flinched. So far as Eilian knew, Legolas was not only not supposed to be out of the palace at night without permission, but was actually still confined to his chamber except when he was at various lessons. Elves seldom strike their young, but Legolas had been more than usually troublesome of late and tonight his timing had evidently been most unfortunate. Thranduil looked as if he was experiencing a strong urge to take a quiver strap to his youngest son's backside.
Legolas swallowed at his father's tone and grim expression. "I was waiting for Annael. We were going to watch the spring dancing. Adar, you can punish me for that, but please, listen to what I have to tell you!"
Thranduil's face turned red as he struggled with his temper. Evidently taking the silence as a signal to continue, Legolas plunged into his story. He had been waiting for Annael near the bridge when he had seen Arramiel come from the palace, and go into the woods, taking a path that ran in the opposite direction from where the dancing was. He had thought that she might be lost, and if she were not, he found her excursion strange enough that he had followed her. She had led him to a small clearing and stood with her hands raised, chanting some sort of incantation in a language that Legolas did not recognize. According to Legolas, the very trees had shuddered at her words and a large, black bird had appeared. Arramiel had offered a tube-like container that the bird took in its claws and flew away with. Arramiel had then returned the way that she had come.
"Are you sure that she entered the palace?" Thranduil asked urgently. Legolas nodded. Thranduil moved to the door and summoned a guard. "Look in Lady Galenadiual's quarters and see if her maidservant is there. If she is, arrest her."
As soon as Legolas had begun his tale, Eilian knew they had their spy. As Galenadiual's maid, Arramiel lived in the family quarters. She could choose her time and slip into Thranduil's study to read dispatches. She could come and go from the palace without her movements being noted. And, Eilian thought, she had been aggressively friendly with Gelmir who had been standing next to Eilian when he fed the false story to Carondo. Gelmir had no idea that there might be a spy in Thranduil's halls and would have seen no reason to refrain from talking about a possible scouting trip to the west. The only question, he thought, was whether she had spied alone.
A soft voice spoke from behind him. "How can this be possible?" In the door to Thranduil's bedchamber stood Galenadiual. She was fully dressed, although the lacings on her green gown had obviously been done up in some haste. Legolas glared at her.
"What have you to do with this, madam?" he spat at her.
Thranduil turned to regard her thoughtfully. Was it possible that Galenadiual was a traitor? Had she been charged with distracting him while Arramiel passed information to the enemy? She looked back at him steadily.
"Given that Arramiel is my servant, I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I swear to you that I was not involved in this. Indeed, when I consider, the Orc attacks that eventually killed my husband and destroyed my home began in earnest after Arramiel entered my service."
At that moment, the guard returned to report that Arramiel had not been found. Thranduil had not defended Mirkwood for centuries by being overly trustful. "Escort Lady Galenadiual to her chamber, and stay with her there," he instructed. "If Arramiel should appear, detain her. Let no harm come to Lady Galenadiual, but do not let her out of your sight either." The guard plainly comprehended the line he was being asked to tread and turned toward Galenadiual.
"Eilian," Thranduil ordered, "fetch Ithilden. Tell him to close the gates and then set his guards to search for Arramiel. I want her found."
Legolas jumped eagerly forward. "I will go with you, Eilian."
"No," Thranduil caught at Legolas's sleeve as he hastened past. He hesitated. He obviously had no intention of allowing Legolas to search for this dangerous woman, but what was he to do with him? Confining him to his chamber would leave him alone and possibly vulnerable and had proven spectacularly ineffective in any case. "You go with the guard and help keep an eye on Lady Galenadiual," he said finally. Eilian, who was on his way out the door to wake Ithilden, had a moment's admiring thought: Thranduil was a master tactician in his struggle with his youngest son.
All flew to do the king's bidding as he went to dress. The next hour was filled with frantic activity as, under Ithilden's command, they searched every inch of the palace, to no avail. Ithilden finally sent Eilian to tell Thranduil of their lack of success and see if he wanted the search extended beyond the gates.
Eilian was hurrying along the hallway of the family quarters when he heard something that sounded like a choked scream. He turned searchingly and then decided that the sound had come from the side corridor along which lay the guest chambers currently occupied by Galenadiual. Cautiously, he approached the door, which was ajar. He peered through the opening to see a scene that froze his blood. Arramiel had somehow made her way to the room. Perhaps she had been hiding somewhere in the family quarters all along. Now she stood behind Galenadiual with one hand gripping her hair and pulling her head back. The other hand held a bloody knife pointed at her mistress's neck. The guard lay in a wounded heap while Legolas was watching Arramiel with a look of utter concentration.
"Elfling," the maidservant commanded him, "get the guard's belt and give it to this whore." She pulled harder on Galenadiual's hair, and the woman gave a little cry. "She will use it to bind your hands." She smiled wickedly. "You and I are going on a little trip, and we do not want to be at odds while we do so." Chillingly, she said nothing of her plans for Galenadiual.
What happened next took place both in slow motion and too quickly to be consciously seen. Arramiel stretched out one foot to kick the guard's sword away so that it would be sure to be out of Legolas's reach when he fetched the guard's belt. As she was off balance, Legolas leapt, pushing Galenadiual to one side and drawing a dagger from his boot. Caught by surprise, Arramiel spun toward him, flicking the knife in a smooth arc that just caught Legolas across the chest, slicing his tunic and drawing a thin line of blood drops. Legolas drew his right elbow back behind his waist and then drove the dagger up under her ribs. With a look of astonishment, Arramiel uttered a single wordless cry and then crumpled slowly to the ground at his feet.
Released from the paralysis that had gripped him, Eilian ran into the room, grabbing Legolas's shoulder with one hand and running the other frantically over his chest. "Are you all right?" he cried. Legolas nodded, seemingly unable to speak. Eilian probed his chest. Legolas winced but the wound seemed to be a scratch only. Galenadiual was bent over the guard who at least was still alive, which was more than Eilian could say for Arramiel, whom he now turned face up on the floor.
Legolas stared at his bloody hand and then at the dead thing that lay before him, at the person who no longer existed because he had driven home a dagger. It was the first time he had killed a creature he did not intend to use as food, the first time he had taken a life without offering a prayer that the creature he hunted would forgive him. And it was a woman. His body rebelled at the knowledge. He stumbled to the washstand and vomited helplessly. Galenadiual moved to his side, caught back his hair, and murmured words too soft for even Eilian to hear.
*******
Again, my thanks to all readers and reviewers. One more chapter to go!
Willowtwig and Imbefaniel: Did it turn out as you thought it would? My hope is that you were close but not exactly on target.
JastaElf: You have been consistently supportive and generous to a new writer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Nilmandra: I can't believe how nice you've been about recommending this story and continuing to review it. Like Jasta, you're a gift to new authors!
Finnov: You wanted a chapter from the POV of someone other than Eilian, and the next chapter (the last one) will provide that. I'm afraid it won't be the one you wanted though. For that, imagine that Thranduil was just as sharp tongued with Legolas as he was with Eilian and that he then imposed the ME equivalent of grounding. In the next chapter, he gets a little more creative in his punishments. Maybe that will please you.
Jenolas: Thank you for the reassurance about the pacing. I tend to be in a hurry and cannot imagine writing the long fics that some of my most admired authors produce. But you made me feel better about my own pace.