Author's note: Yet again, no reviews. Are you hinting that I should give up
and not bother posting any more?
***
Rion spent most of his time with Mir, but often went into the gardens during the afternoon. He tried to convince the guards to let Mir come outside, but apparently their orders demanded otherwise.
Ari would often come to see him when he was in the garden. Since that first day she hadn't worn a dress once, but instead sensible trousers that made climbing trees much easier. Rion had been surprised that she bothered to spend time with him, after the argument they had had.
"I've been thinking about what you said," she had told him, "and you're right. I can't imagine what could justify kidnap. But since I've tried to see things your way, will you try to see them my way?"
"What do you mean?" he had asked.
"You've told me your father is a good man who would never consider kidnap. What if he did? What if, for some unknown reason, he ordered the kidnapping of another? Wouldn't you try with all your might to think of some way it could be excused? Put yourself in my shoes. How would you act if I man you believed good beyond all doubt suddenly acted in a way so utterly against his character?" Rion conceded she had a point, but couldn't help feeling she was just a fool. A silly little girl who was deliberately not seeing what was in front of her.
Still, he quite liked her talking to him. She smiled a lot, whereas lately Mir had become very dismal. It was understandable, given all that had happened, but Rion wanted to forget this whole terrible situation and Ari helped do that.
"Don't you get cold out here?" Ari asked.
"A little," Rion replied, "but it's a choose between sitting out here or sitting in my room."
"Your room's not so bad. Father gave you one of the best guest rooms in the palace."
"It's still a prison." So much for forgetting about being a prisoner here.
"I could talk to Father about letting you see a little more of the palace," Ari suggested. Rion shrugged, trying not to show how much he wanted it. If he could see more of the palace, he might be able to figure out a way to escape. It wouldn't be much use now, but come spring he would need to know all he could. However, if he was too enthusiastic about the idea, Ari would become suspicious.
Besides, Mir thought she was a spy and Rion sometimes considered that he might be right. She hadn't asked anything that could be useful to anyone, but that could very easily be a front to put him off his guard.
He wondered later if he had made a mistake in acting so casually about it. She might decide he wasn't interested in seeing the rest of the palace and not bother asking about it. Or she might tell her father and he would get suspicious that he didn't care. Ari might be a fool, but he didn't think the king was. It was a delicate line between acting too casual and too enthusiastic, and Rion thought he might have strayed to far from it.
That was why he was surprised with Ari showed up early the next day. Rion had only just finished his breakfast and was about to go and see Mir. She was wearing trousers again, rather than a dress, and had her dark hair tied back. She might be a fool, but she was a pretty one.
"Father's given me permission to show you more about the palace," she said, "but if you try to escape you'll be locked up and you won't even be allowed to see your friend."
"All right." Since he wasn't planning to escape for a while he would have plenty of opportunity to learn all he could about this place.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?"
Rion didn't say the way out, since he doubted she'd agree to that. "You know this place," he said, "surely you know the best parts to show me."
"I could show you the library, or the great hall."
"Whatever you think best." Ari went and picked up the circlet from the dressing table and tossed it to him. Rion wondered why everyone thought it was so important. It was only a piece of jewellery. But he put it on anyway, and Ari led him out into the corridor, the guards following close behind.
So it wasn't much later when Rion stood in a hall as large as the ballroom in Minas Tirith. Beautifully worked paintings hung on wooden walls showing green-grey landscapes of mountains and sea. An island rising out of the water to a central mountain range. Rion guessed that they were of this land.
One wall of the room was made entirely of glass, with doors opening onto a wide lawn decorated with fountains and statues. Rion supposed that parties would spill out onto that lawn. Thinking along these lines made him remember the ballroom back home and the parties there. Some of Rion's earliest memories were trying to convince his father he was old enough to go to the balls. Only two years ago had his father agreed and allowed him to come. Looking round this foreign hall he wondered if he would ever have a chance to grace the dance floor of his father's balls. Would he ever sit at his father's right hand at banquets?
Tears rose behind his eyes, but Rion forced them back. He wouldn't show his weakness. He couldn't.
"What's wrong?" Ari asked, putting a hand on his arm.
"Nothing," Rion responded, shrugging off her hand. He walked over to one of the paintings and stared at it until the need for tears was gone. As he looked at the picture, he saw that there was something flying in the patch of sky in one corner. It was painted faintly in the distance, and Rion wondered what could be so large that it could be seen at such a distance.
"A beautiful picture, isn't it?" said Ari.
"Very," Rion agreed.
"What would you like to see now?" Ari asked after a few minutes.
"How would I know? I don't know what there is to see."
"If you like paintings I could show you the gallery."
As they walked through the corridors on the way to the gallery, Rion was surprised by the number of people they passed. Some were presumably servants, and there were some in the soldier's uniform he was coming to recognise, but there were many others who didn't fit in either of those categories.
"How many people live here?" Rion asked.
"In the palace itself? I don't know, probably about a thousand."
"A thousand?" Rion couldn't keep the amazement out of his voice.
"Most of the nobles have an apartments here. And there are craftsmen living here. If they live in the palace, everyone assumes they must be brilliant and they can charge double what they would if they lived in the main town. There are also various traders who live here for pretty much the same reason."
"So you've basically got a mini town inside the palace?" Ari nodded.
"Doesn't that cause a problem with security?"
"Why should it? We've got the guards and they would stop anyone trying to harm the royal family."
Rion doubted his father would be convinced by such an argument. King Elessar spent most of his time worrying that his children might get kidnapped, to such and extent that Rion was surprised he wasn't permanently locked in his room. Though granted, circumstances had proved his father right in his fear.
***
Mir paced his small room anxiously. Rion had normally been to see him by now. Where was he? Terrified thoughts filled his head about the torture they could be putting him through, trying to get information out of him. He knew this act of kindness wouldn't last long.
Time past slowly. He had no idea how much time, since the sun was hidden by a thick cover of cloud, but it must have been hours. His midday meal was delivered, but he didn't feel like eating. He paced some more until his legs ached from the exercise.
He was on the verge of panicking that they might have done something terrible to him when the door opened and Rion stepped in. Mir was hugging him before he knew what was happening.
"What is it?" Rion asked.
"I thought they'd done something to you."
"I'm fine," Rion assured him, "Ari was showing me some of the palace." Her.
"She's a spy!" Mir snapped, "Don't you see what she's doing? She's trying to get close to you so that you'll talk about Gondor. The king knows he won't get anything out of us willingly so he's tricking you."
"I don't think so."
"Why else would he let her come near you? Are you forgetting we're prisoners here?"
"Of course not!" Rion snapped back, "I went with her today so I could find out more about this place! So we have a better chance of escape when spring comes!" It did make sense, and Mir regretted having snapped at him. He'd just been so worried, and the thought that Rion would wander off with that girl without thinking about his friend's feelings made him angry.
"I'm sorry, Rion," Mir said.
"That's all right," Rion replied, " I didn't mean to make you worried. I'm sorry."
"All's forgiven."
"I'll try not to do something like this again," Rion said, "but if they give me an opportunity like this, I don't know if I'll get the chance again. We need to learn as much about this place as possible if we're to escape. If I don't come to see you like I normally do, I'll probably be doing that."
"I'll try not to worry."
They sat together on the bed, and Rion told Mir about everything Ari had shown him: the hall and the gallery, the negotiation rooms.
"At the very least we could get out through the hall. I think I could find the way back. The problem is there's no cover outside the wall. We'd easily be spotted. I saw another door into a garden, but I think it was surrounded by the building on all sides, like the one they let me out into." They talked for a long time, discussing the possibilities. At last the guards opened the door and insisted that Prince Eldarion should return to his own room.
"In a few days I'll see if I can convince Ari to show me more," Rion said softly to Mir, "Don't worry." Mir nodded and watched as Rion was led off. In the silence that followed, he looked around the small room and wished he could see the palace like Rion was doing. All he saw every day were the same four walls and he was sick of them. Rion might be a prisoner, but he still had more freedom that Mir could hope to get.
***
Author's note: As cliffhangers go, it's pretty pathetic. But I can promise there will be a better cliffhanger at the end of the next chapter. If I bother to post it considering the reception this story's getting at the moment.
***
Rion spent most of his time with Mir, but often went into the gardens during the afternoon. He tried to convince the guards to let Mir come outside, but apparently their orders demanded otherwise.
Ari would often come to see him when he was in the garden. Since that first day she hadn't worn a dress once, but instead sensible trousers that made climbing trees much easier. Rion had been surprised that she bothered to spend time with him, after the argument they had had.
"I've been thinking about what you said," she had told him, "and you're right. I can't imagine what could justify kidnap. But since I've tried to see things your way, will you try to see them my way?"
"What do you mean?" he had asked.
"You've told me your father is a good man who would never consider kidnap. What if he did? What if, for some unknown reason, he ordered the kidnapping of another? Wouldn't you try with all your might to think of some way it could be excused? Put yourself in my shoes. How would you act if I man you believed good beyond all doubt suddenly acted in a way so utterly against his character?" Rion conceded she had a point, but couldn't help feeling she was just a fool. A silly little girl who was deliberately not seeing what was in front of her.
Still, he quite liked her talking to him. She smiled a lot, whereas lately Mir had become very dismal. It was understandable, given all that had happened, but Rion wanted to forget this whole terrible situation and Ari helped do that.
"Don't you get cold out here?" Ari asked.
"A little," Rion replied, "but it's a choose between sitting out here or sitting in my room."
"Your room's not so bad. Father gave you one of the best guest rooms in the palace."
"It's still a prison." So much for forgetting about being a prisoner here.
"I could talk to Father about letting you see a little more of the palace," Ari suggested. Rion shrugged, trying not to show how much he wanted it. If he could see more of the palace, he might be able to figure out a way to escape. It wouldn't be much use now, but come spring he would need to know all he could. However, if he was too enthusiastic about the idea, Ari would become suspicious.
Besides, Mir thought she was a spy and Rion sometimes considered that he might be right. She hadn't asked anything that could be useful to anyone, but that could very easily be a front to put him off his guard.
He wondered later if he had made a mistake in acting so casually about it. She might decide he wasn't interested in seeing the rest of the palace and not bother asking about it. Or she might tell her father and he would get suspicious that he didn't care. Ari might be a fool, but he didn't think the king was. It was a delicate line between acting too casual and too enthusiastic, and Rion thought he might have strayed to far from it.
That was why he was surprised with Ari showed up early the next day. Rion had only just finished his breakfast and was about to go and see Mir. She was wearing trousers again, rather than a dress, and had her dark hair tied back. She might be a fool, but she was a pretty one.
"Father's given me permission to show you more about the palace," she said, "but if you try to escape you'll be locked up and you won't even be allowed to see your friend."
"All right." Since he wasn't planning to escape for a while he would have plenty of opportunity to learn all he could about this place.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?"
Rion didn't say the way out, since he doubted she'd agree to that. "You know this place," he said, "surely you know the best parts to show me."
"I could show you the library, or the great hall."
"Whatever you think best." Ari went and picked up the circlet from the dressing table and tossed it to him. Rion wondered why everyone thought it was so important. It was only a piece of jewellery. But he put it on anyway, and Ari led him out into the corridor, the guards following close behind.
So it wasn't much later when Rion stood in a hall as large as the ballroom in Minas Tirith. Beautifully worked paintings hung on wooden walls showing green-grey landscapes of mountains and sea. An island rising out of the water to a central mountain range. Rion guessed that they were of this land.
One wall of the room was made entirely of glass, with doors opening onto a wide lawn decorated with fountains and statues. Rion supposed that parties would spill out onto that lawn. Thinking along these lines made him remember the ballroom back home and the parties there. Some of Rion's earliest memories were trying to convince his father he was old enough to go to the balls. Only two years ago had his father agreed and allowed him to come. Looking round this foreign hall he wondered if he would ever have a chance to grace the dance floor of his father's balls. Would he ever sit at his father's right hand at banquets?
Tears rose behind his eyes, but Rion forced them back. He wouldn't show his weakness. He couldn't.
"What's wrong?" Ari asked, putting a hand on his arm.
"Nothing," Rion responded, shrugging off her hand. He walked over to one of the paintings and stared at it until the need for tears was gone. As he looked at the picture, he saw that there was something flying in the patch of sky in one corner. It was painted faintly in the distance, and Rion wondered what could be so large that it could be seen at such a distance.
"A beautiful picture, isn't it?" said Ari.
"Very," Rion agreed.
"What would you like to see now?" Ari asked after a few minutes.
"How would I know? I don't know what there is to see."
"If you like paintings I could show you the gallery."
As they walked through the corridors on the way to the gallery, Rion was surprised by the number of people they passed. Some were presumably servants, and there were some in the soldier's uniform he was coming to recognise, but there were many others who didn't fit in either of those categories.
"How many people live here?" Rion asked.
"In the palace itself? I don't know, probably about a thousand."
"A thousand?" Rion couldn't keep the amazement out of his voice.
"Most of the nobles have an apartments here. And there are craftsmen living here. If they live in the palace, everyone assumes they must be brilliant and they can charge double what they would if they lived in the main town. There are also various traders who live here for pretty much the same reason."
"So you've basically got a mini town inside the palace?" Ari nodded.
"Doesn't that cause a problem with security?"
"Why should it? We've got the guards and they would stop anyone trying to harm the royal family."
Rion doubted his father would be convinced by such an argument. King Elessar spent most of his time worrying that his children might get kidnapped, to such and extent that Rion was surprised he wasn't permanently locked in his room. Though granted, circumstances had proved his father right in his fear.
***
Mir paced his small room anxiously. Rion had normally been to see him by now. Where was he? Terrified thoughts filled his head about the torture they could be putting him through, trying to get information out of him. He knew this act of kindness wouldn't last long.
Time past slowly. He had no idea how much time, since the sun was hidden by a thick cover of cloud, but it must have been hours. His midday meal was delivered, but he didn't feel like eating. He paced some more until his legs ached from the exercise.
He was on the verge of panicking that they might have done something terrible to him when the door opened and Rion stepped in. Mir was hugging him before he knew what was happening.
"What is it?" Rion asked.
"I thought they'd done something to you."
"I'm fine," Rion assured him, "Ari was showing me some of the palace." Her.
"She's a spy!" Mir snapped, "Don't you see what she's doing? She's trying to get close to you so that you'll talk about Gondor. The king knows he won't get anything out of us willingly so he's tricking you."
"I don't think so."
"Why else would he let her come near you? Are you forgetting we're prisoners here?"
"Of course not!" Rion snapped back, "I went with her today so I could find out more about this place! So we have a better chance of escape when spring comes!" It did make sense, and Mir regretted having snapped at him. He'd just been so worried, and the thought that Rion would wander off with that girl without thinking about his friend's feelings made him angry.
"I'm sorry, Rion," Mir said.
"That's all right," Rion replied, " I didn't mean to make you worried. I'm sorry."
"All's forgiven."
"I'll try not to do something like this again," Rion said, "but if they give me an opportunity like this, I don't know if I'll get the chance again. We need to learn as much about this place as possible if we're to escape. If I don't come to see you like I normally do, I'll probably be doing that."
"I'll try not to worry."
They sat together on the bed, and Rion told Mir about everything Ari had shown him: the hall and the gallery, the negotiation rooms.
"At the very least we could get out through the hall. I think I could find the way back. The problem is there's no cover outside the wall. We'd easily be spotted. I saw another door into a garden, but I think it was surrounded by the building on all sides, like the one they let me out into." They talked for a long time, discussing the possibilities. At last the guards opened the door and insisted that Prince Eldarion should return to his own room.
"In a few days I'll see if I can convince Ari to show me more," Rion said softly to Mir, "Don't worry." Mir nodded and watched as Rion was led off. In the silence that followed, he looked around the small room and wished he could see the palace like Rion was doing. All he saw every day were the same four walls and he was sick of them. Rion might be a prisoner, but he still had more freedom that Mir could hope to get.
***
Author's note: As cliffhangers go, it's pretty pathetic. But I can promise there will be a better cliffhanger at the end of the next chapter. If I bother to post it considering the reception this story's getting at the moment.