Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien does. I only own what is mine.
Chapter Four: Drowned & AccusedTadriendra was stumbling down the vestibule; her footing was irregular and her mind elsewhere, deep in her thoughts. After nearly tripping over a statuette she placed one hand on the wall and leaned back, closing her eyes, she felt irksome, but she didn't want to believe it. Elrol, her Elrol was after the prince, for what? What did he want from him? She shook her head and looked down the forlorn corridor, it was barren and dark, not a single living thing walked down this corridor, for everyone knew that a demon lived in this part of the cave. Still something was drawing her near, the darken tunnel, where the carpets were frayed and the curtains torn into shreds.
Slowly she walked down the sullied hallway, dust was in the air and it laid around the floor in a thick carpeting, she was deep down into the tunnel now, a foreboding look came from the walls and directly in front of her was a slanting board, with handcuffs dangling from it, the chains rattled in an illusory wind, the whole place had an eerie feel to it as if all sorts of wild beasts lived there, watching Tadriendra walk down that lonely corridor.
She stopped and from her sash she took out a well-concealed long knife and holding it in one hand she moved down the corridor in a sneaky fashion, most like a cat. She had reached a fork in the tunnel and stopped, whichever way she took there was a feasible danger lurking there, her mind told her to go back, but her heart was torn with curiosity and trepidation, she was drawn to move down this path, but she could not take another step, rooted to the spot she stood in.
- & -
From a dark chamber, beneath the surface, wisps of blue smoke rose to the top of the stone ceiling, a stranger cloaked in black stood over a black cauldron, lone elegant hands were stirring it, the manifestation in the cauldron was a face of a woman. She had amethyst eyes that had a lavender shine around them, her face was an insipid peach and framing her head was black tresses that were straight and silky. She had red lips redder than a rose, as if smeared by berry juice. Finally she stood up straight and tall, removing the black hood and dipped a ladle into the pot and when it came back up it was full of a cobalt fluid.
"Aren't you ready yet? Or do I have to execute you too?" Someone stood at the entryway, their red eyes glowing in the darkness, the woman near the cauldron fidgeted a bit, but she didn't reply, instead she was acting to be assiduous of her work, giving no signs that she even heard the intrusion. The stranger began to grow impatient and then moved up to her, removing the facade to show a woman's face. "Why aren't you answering?"
"I won't and shan't serve you, now abscond. I have things to do for His Highness," the lady spoke, her voice was consoling and inexplicable. She continued to brew the potion then it turned into a nice silvery liquid, scooping it up she poured it into a glass jar and then screwed the lid on tight. She turned to leave, but the other woman grabbed her hand. She pulled her back with such force that the girl dropped the jar and it smashed the floor into a million pieces, the liquid hissing and sizzling on the ground. "No! What have you done? What has gotten into you?"
"Fodien, you know you want to help serve me, but something is holding you back, what is it? Is it the prince? Is that it? You love him don't you?" The stranger circled Fodien her face was stricken with fear. "Ah, I've hit a sore spot haven't I, Lady Fodien?" She sneered and then placed her long slender arm on Fodien's face. "It's just a shame that I have to do what I'm about to do." It was quick and fast, in a moment's notice the glistening of a blade was seen and then the next it went straight into Fodien's stomach. Blood poured out and the dark red liquid spilled all over her hands, but she stumbled away from the slayer and ran behind bottles of compounds.
She quickly poured a few chemicals together and they started to fizz, she worked hastily, but the killer was gaining and the lost of blood was hurting Fodien's perception, her eyesight was blurring quickly and fading into a dark shadow, but she had to finish this or else the killer would go on a carnage, killing everyone in the palace. "Oh, still have enough potency to play with your chemicals? Guess you're not dead enough." The murder dashed over to her and leaped onto a chair, jumping onto the table, with her two hands she pushed Fodien, down to the hard cold ground. Fodien hit the stonewall and sat there a bit dazed, but she saw the killer jumping down and sitting beside her the knife gleaming with her blood.
The killer raised the blade up and down through the stomach and slicing her body with it, she screamed out in pain and in fury, the loss of blood was implausible, her whole body was saturated in the liquid that once kept her alive. After the 15th stab Fodien managed to jostle the killer, with her legs, into a vat of chemicals. The murder knocked over many glass bottles and jars, and pots spilling substances everywhere and the sound of glass crashing was echoed and emphasized in the dungeon room.
The bottles spilled and fire was set ablaze and exhaust of all sorts flew into the air, the killer screamed and ran around in frenzy. Fodien crawled and dragged herself to the cauldron and then poured the mixture inside the caldron, steam came out from it and that was it, with a quill she and a piece of parchment she began to write, a small note with her blood, her hand was growing tired and hard to control, her mind slowly began to black out and before she managed to finish the memorandum the killer came out from behind and stab Fodien right in the back, killing her.
Blood was splattered all over the killer's attire and beside the cauldron pot laid Fodien's limp body which was drenched in her own blood, her eyes wide open and staring out into the empty space. The killer smiled and placed on her mask dashing out of the dungeon and disappearing into the shadows.
- & -
Legolas had just gotten out of his Father's study and was trying to find Elrol, he didn't have to look far because Elrol was standing against the door to the far left and he grinned as Legolas exited, he walked over to him and then they began to talk away, catching up on their good time. Elrol was laughing and telling of his journey back to Mirkwood. They hadn't walked far when Tadriendra came running to them, her eyes wide and full of fear and her voice was high. "You guys… have to…see this..." Her voice was high and she couldn't keep the panic out of it, she moved around in a hysteric state.
"Tadriendra, calm down! Tell us exactly what happened."
"Bring guards…Fodien…dead…" With those few words Legolas sprang up and began to dash down the corridors followed by Elrol and Tadriendra, but Elrol didn't really understand, he just understood that someone was dead. They met up with some guards patrolling the hallway and Legolas commanded them to come with them to the Forgotten Floors of the bastion. The guards followed them, past the frayed carpets and dusty hallways and finally arriving at Fodien's lab. Pushing the heavy metal door open they arrived at a scene full of miasma and hissing noises. Legolas entered first walking in the smog, but soon he got past the mist, he saw the broken glass beakers and pots, damage was everywhere in the lab and chemicals were all over the floor, but the thing that caught his eye was Fodien's dead body. It laid there lifelessly her eyes wide open and staring at his.
He walked over and closed the eyelids, her amethyst eyes were pale and colorless, a look to it that suggested a person without a soul anymore. The guards came next followed by the other two they looked around shocked at the sight, everything was jumble and the dead body was just there drenched in blood.
"What happened here?" One of the guards asked, observing the scene. "Should we get a healer?"
"No, it's too late, she has been stabbed too many times and she has already been dead for quite a while," Legolas informed then stood up.
"Eh? What's this? Legolas, Tadriendra, look at this…" Elrol picked up the blood-splattered parchment they all crowded around it looking at the paper.
"Look…into…the… Into the what?"
"Perhaps into her pot? It is the only thing left untouched," the guards said, staring curiously at the paper. They all huddled around the cauldron waiting for it to do something, but for a whole 5 minutes nothing happened and they stood up looking at each other nervously.
There was a sudden rumble and the water began to swirl in a circle, there were glimpse of red and black flying through; somebody dashing out of the door, and two red eyes gleamed in the distance. "ARGH!!!" Elrol shrieked backing away in fright, but then he perceives that the guards were looking at him. "What? Y-you doesn't think I w-was the o-o-one who d-did it?" The idea dawning on him, but they looked at him and raised their spears advancing on him slowly. "It wasn't me!!!" He backed away, his red eyes glowing with the same fiery sparks, but this time there was a mix of trepidation in them.
"Lower your spears, he didn't do it, somebody else did, somebody else! This time we're going catch them!"
