More arrows followed the first one. Sriosno quickly moved to one of which had missed all targets and picked it up. Upon observing it, her threw it to the ground with disgust.

"Orcs," he muttered, anger boiling up inside of him. He ran to the aid of the other warriors, and Riania to the Queen's side. The King, who was kneeling beside her, was weeping openly. She inspected the Queen, only to find tragedy. This particular arrow was poisoned by *irtune, a plant poisonous to all Elves, and rather deadly. The Queen's breath was growing shorter and more labored, as she was slowly passing on. Nothing could be done once an Elf was poisoned with this.

Other Elves were panicking, running about with no idea of what they should do. Warriors of the court were calling out orders, but Riania was numb. Who was attacking? And why? What was going on?........ Suddenly it hit her. No, it wouldn't be.... It couldn't be....... She decided it wasn't time, it wouldn't come this soon, and moved on to help others.

Meanwhile Sriosno and others had discovered what was going on. Goblins had surrounded the castle, and were firing at will. The warriors had already fetched their weapons, and so Sriosno fired an arrow at a goblin of who had shot and barely missed him. The prince, however, was right on target. Suddenly an Elf came out and dragged Sriosno aside.

"Your Majesty, you must take cover with Queen Riania, right away!"

"Queen Riania?" muttered the 'prince.' "How can she be......"

"His Majesty is gravely ill, and in need of you."

"And my mother......"

"She is gone, Highness."





~*~*~*~*~

ANOUNCEMENTS

*irtune--irtune is not a real plant, I just made it up. It's about the only thing I own, beside Riania and her family ^_~ Anyway, here's its "made up" description. It's a purple-ish flower, found only in the forests of Mordor (!) and is deadly to Elves. If it enters their bloodstream, nothing can stop it. So therefore, when an attack is launched on an Elfish kingdom with weapons poisoned with irtune, the outcome is fatal, really.

Hmmmm, I hope I didn't give away the ending...... Nah, of course not!! Everything is unexpected in this...... PLEASE R/R!!!!!! Tell me what you think of these "twists." Oh yes, and another thing. If you really are enjoying this, you might want to read The Naress, another one of my stories, of which is similar.

REVEIW THIS IF YOU ARE READING AND LIKE IT!!! Or, if you think I can "improve" tell me. Is my grammar ok? How about spelling? Let me know!