A CONSPIRACY UNMASKED
By : mirkwood-elf-2931

CHAPTER 6

"My love, there is something I wish to ask you." Aragorn stepped into he and Arwen's bed-chamber late in a sunny Spring morning of May in the King's House of Minas Tirith; a year already this month that which he had been crowned.

The Elven queen looked up only once from the book she was reading to show him she was listening.

"How does a trip sound?"

"A trip?" She asked rather calmly. This captured her interest and she closed the hardback cover. "Where would we be going?"

He shrugged, casually seating himself on the edge of the bed. "How about…oh, say Mirkwood and Rivendell?"

She brightened immediately, as he knew she would. "Really?! It would be wonderful to see everyone!"

Aragorn agreed, knowing this was just what the Noldor Elf needed, was to be around friends and family once more, just as much as he desired to be.

"So, when do we leave?" She let an eyebrow quickly rise and fall at him.

"Whenever you wish. I'm leaving it entirely up to you." He replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh really?" Arwen smiled devilishly at him, standing and grabbing his hand to yank him up from the bed. "Then we leave on morrow! So let's get to packing!"

~*~*~~*~~*~*~

In Mirkwood, two ordinary, routinely days passed.

The recently recruited soliders trained every morning and the remainder of each day they were shown something new. Whether it was new fighting moves, or a new part of the palace, the young Elves were having the time of their lives.

And since the Great Hall was momentarily not in use, their captain was inside while Deyinar gave the new group a tour of the stables. As most warriors, Landailyn felt one could never have too much training and that there was always room for improvement even after many hundreds of years. And so she picked this large area for practice, where it was quiet and easy to concentrate.

Having taken off her quiver, she held only her two knives. For two hours she slashed and stabbed and swung at the air, but when she brought a blade up to examine the sharpness, something she usually checked for before putting them away. She frowned at her discovery. Dull again; it was the second time this year. Laying them down and turning swiftly, perhaps a little too swiftly for the east exit, the room began to spin and she was forced to hold onto a ceiling collum. Closing her eyes, the dizziness passed after an impatient minute of waiting and she continued on.

Just before the room she sought, she stopped and listened, only to hear at least two voices just inside. Who would be hanging around the armory?

"We came very close, my friend. But of course because of that couple we had to back off. We should have rid ourselves of them as well, I suppose."

"Yeah, they came to see Thranduil nearly everyday the group was gone to the mountains! They must be good friends or something..."

A couple that were good friends of Thranduil? Landailyn wondered if they spoke of her parents.

"Well, if they come back wondering where the king and prince have gone after we're done..."

"Or the captain, if it comes to that...we'll just have to..."

"Yes," The Elf smiled cunningly over at his shorter companion. "We will. Anyway, I know I said we'd try again today, but now just isn't the right time. I promise you, soon, very soon."

Landailyn couldn't believe this. She didn't want to believe this. Thranduil had almost been murdered by the hands of these once loyal Elves? And now they were planning Legolas' death too? And possibly her own? She took a deep breath, sighing; but barely, careful not to give her position away. This disturbing news had to be known of immediately. Although she listened a little further, in case they might mention how they planned to carry this out.

But there was nothing further, for they had no time to say another word, as someone else could clearly be heard entering the room from another doorway. She prayed it was not Legolas.

"Good evening," They greeted whoever it was, acting as normal as they could, as they always had before.

"Good evening! What are you two doing?" The new person voiced casually.

Landailyn closed her eyes in relief. It was not the prince's voice. So curiously, she peaked around the corner.

It was Nylaro, one of the younger Elves who had practically snuck along with his friends to go with them to Emyn-nu-Fuin. He had picked up a bundle of arrows, but now pointed to many laid out knives and other weapons that should have either been hung on the wall or inside wooden chests. But unlike the soldier, they weren't what had really caught Landailyn's attention. From her view, she could see that the shorter of the two partners in crime had raised a small sword over his head, preparing to bring it down upon the unsuspecting Elf, who had turned his back for only a moment.

Panic swept through her; he would be killed if she didn't warn him.

Stepping out into the open from her concealment behind the wall, she shouted to bring the attacker's attention away from his prey. "Behind you!"

Facing the hallway door, Nylaro looked up in complete confusion at her, but quickly sensed the presence at his back. He turned his head in time to see the silver blade coming down at him and ducked, sweep kicking the servant to the floor.

While the two struggled, the other set squinted, glaring eyes upon the captain in the doorway. How had he known she would be trouble for them.

One look at him told her to run. Having no weapons, it was all one could have done; the younger man she was leaving behind could take care of himself. "Legolas!" She called out desperately, as her long legs carried her swiftly, turning down several different halls to try and lose her follower.

But the man caught up to his quarry with ease, knowing the interior of palace as well as she, if not better. Preparing to round sharply to another hallway, he sped up just as Landailyn reached its corner.

She gasped as his body collided with hers, and taking the entire impact, she hit the solid wall in front of them.

They fell to the floor; Landailyn was momentarily stunned mentally and physically and all the while fearing a blackout. But when none such came, she put up the best fight she could. The she-Elf was strong, but this male's form was wider and built even more so than an average Human man.

He overpowered her quickly, much to his own joy and amusement. "I'm afraid your little so called prince won't save you...ever." Having gathered a few items before he left the armory, he first tied her hands behind her back and then moved down to her ankles, then back up to gag her mouth with a cloth meant for polishing the stored weapons.

A voice in Landailyn's head screamed at her for being captured. She had to tell them now; she had to get to one lord or the other and tell them they were being plotted against. She knew the two 'trusted' servants would never be suspected and they're job would be finished quite easily, however it was they planned to kill them.

Returning with his catch over his shoulder, Wingdun found his comrade too had already tied up their first victim, but hadn't bothered to gag him.

With a thud, he let Landailyn drop to the floor on her back.

She winced as her hands were cramped beneath her body, between she and the stone flooring, but this was the least of her troubles. Staring over at the unconscious warrior, she was relieved to find he was still among the living. But for how long?

How long before either of them became victim to murder?

It wasn't long, before Nylaro was moved into another room and then there it was, a noise; someone's voice was close by.

Bent over the unconscious Elf, the shorter one, Rembaryn, stopped and jerked upright. "Wing?" He asked in alarm, glancing at Landailyn for directions on what they should do with her. "What do we...?"

"No time, come on!"

The sound of the north courtyard door being pulled open and someone coming inside the room were the next few noises. It was another one of Mirkwood's newest soldiers. A young female, named Evanyne.

At last, since they were getting some of their number back, Landailyn had found there were a few more she-Elves like herself, than she had originally thought. They were just simply younger and weren't sure what they wanted to do with their long lives in the dangerous forest they lived.

"Ny? How long does it take to...?" The girl stopped mid sentence and step, for the male Elf was nowhere in sight. Strange, she thought, he was supposed to be retrieving arrows for practice. He said he would be right back...

Her eyes grew suddenly; something on the floor seemed to be moving that she could see out of the corner of right her eye. Slowly turning, she identified the sight as someone she knew, but it was not Nylaro. "Captain!" She rushed down to her side.

The older Elf made muffled noises behind her gag, but before Evanyne had time to remove the cloth from her mouth, Landailyn was shaking her head fiercely and looking passed her with wide eyes.

Too late the young she-Elf realized she was being warned and felt a sharp pain at the lower part of her neck; all went black.

Landailyn closed her eyes, letting the tension in her entire body release and her head fall back to the floor. Her only hope of getting free now lay next to her, seeming lifeless.

TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
Yup, you got it, Landailyn has been captured again! She has such bad luck, doesn't she? And see, I told you guys it didn't have anything to do with the whole Orc thing in the mountains! That was just some added fun to start out the story, cuz' I didn't know how else to start it out! LOL!
Oh and Tony freakin' broke up with me! Two days before Valentine's! And for a gift I got him expensive Lucky Brand cologne too! Ugh! He just said he rushed himself into it and he probably isn't going to be friends with Beth and Stephen anymore anyway so he wouldn't be able to see me enough! But I'm still going to the senior prom at Beth's school though! Yay! LOL!!!
Now, for some more replies to recent reviews:
-hehe, sorry, Lyn, that was my bad on this fic's chapter 5 being An Unexpected Journey's chapter 5! It wasn't your computer, I just got my chapters mixed up as I went through my files, so I had to go back and repost the right one! And thank you, my hair does look and feel much better from the long ratty mess I had before! :)
-And sorry, Sarah, that I didn't answer your review last chapter! I meant to tell you that I actually did not come up with the name Laianna! I got most of my character names for all three of my fics from fantasy name generators and lists on the net! There were a few I made up, but even though I had no part in making the others, I had to pick them out so I thought they were perfect names for our people! And Thala helped me in making up a couple too!
-That's okay that you couldn't review Thala! I forgive thee! ;) Anyway, what the crap is so funny about 'my liege'?! And hey, you weren't even gonna go to your Prom! Did the possibility of being the queen change your mind? hehehe Well congratulations and good luck on that, my friend! And I better get a Prom pic of you and Chad too!