A CONSPIRACY UNMASKED
By : mirkwood-elf-2931


CHAPTER 10


The room used as a study near Thranduil's sleeping chamber was usually where the Elf lord was and Landailyn had so wished to find him sitting quietly at his desk taking care of their realm's business as always, but at this moment that remained to be seen. In fact, the king himself was literally nowhere in sight, even after checking several more rooms he might have been in.

Easement had spread through him since he finally knew his friend was safe, but now Legolas was beginning to take on worry again, this time for his father and the two warriors that hadn't shown up with Landailyn in the first place. He hadn't the time to ask her, but went along with what she was doing, even though he had no idea what all the franticness was about and soon suggested they try the Great Hall.


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"Landailyn?!" Rising from his throne, the Elven-king expressed some confusion, among much alleviation of her being found.

Thranduil had been strolling throughout the palace and had only stopped into the soulless room to ponder various complicated matters, when a pair of male Elves, recognized as his servants, had come in to 'tidy' up the room. In doing so, they hadn't really bothered him and he stayed where he was.

The she-Elf let her eyes close in sheer relief. "My lord," She bowed her head respectfully, not having noticed anyone else's presence among them. But a small gasp took her attention away from the throne and she looked to her left. "You!" She said angrily to the taller, stronger Elf that stared wildly back at her. But it had not been he who made the noise. "And you!" It had been Rembaryn, who was not far from Wingdun's position. She was just as surprised to see the both of them in the room, as they were she.

Was it this very moment they had been planning to kill the king?

"Is there something wrong?" Thranduil looked back and forth between she and the servants, coming down to join them at their level.

Legolas was still almost as perplexed as his father, but he could see what she was getting at. These apparently were the ones responsible for her disappearance.

"Yes, Lord Thranduil, I will explain why I have been missing for the last three days. These two you consider to lend their loyal services are no longer what they seem. I overheard them in the armory discussing a plot against yourself and Legolas. They planned to kill you both and take over your realm. One of my male soldiers, Nylaro asked them what they were doing and Rembaryn would have killed him had I not exposed my presence. Having no weapons, since I left my quiver here and was only at the armory to retrieve a whetstone, I was caught by Wingdun and soon after, one of my female soldiers, Evanyne, came looking for Nylaro. She tried to help me, but was knocked unconscious. Once all of us were bound, we were locked in an underground storage room. We only managed to escape by 'accidentally' finding another secret way out of it, not half an hour ago."

"This is outrageous, my lord! Can you not see she is lying?! We have done nothing wrong!"

After all she had just claimed Landailyn could hardly believe what she was hearing in response. This was not totally unexpected of a traitor, but she'd thought him to be wiser than this, to realize they had been caught before their plan had fallen through and had no way out this time. Her mouth gaped, as she turned to argue otherwise with her most recent captor. "And why would anyone believe that?! I have two witnesses, two other victims beside myself! You were going to kill us just as you were them!" She pointed to the two Elves that stood nearest her. "And who knows how many more as soon as you took over!"

"Really? Then where are these 'witnesses'?"

"I sent them home so they would not be hurt. And I was only lucky to run into Legolas and find him still alive!"

He raised both brows, as though appalled by her accusations, but now changed to a calmer speaking manner to try and convince the king. "My liege, she has clearly lost it. Why would we do such an awful deed to our people?"

Before Thranduil could comment, Landailyn cut in. She wanted to know what would have happened had she not escaped and come between their deadly intentions. "How were you going to do it, huh? How were you planning to assassinate the only two rightful, blood rulers of this kingdom? Poison? Or was there blood to be spilled? Since you were in the armory."

"You're crazy..."

The prince creased his own dark brows in rising anger at the larger, more muscular servant. He had to admit the older Elf's act was almost believable, but Legolas knew whom to trust and it was not he. Landailyn would never lie to them. He had been searching for the three missing warriors for nearly three full days; and now these two that she claimed were responsible were both found in the same room alone with his father. She was right, everything pointed to these men. "Speak no ill of those higher than yourself. I believe you are the ones who have lost it."

In return, Legolas received two especially deadly glares.

The looks went unnoticed by Thranduil. However, he entirely agreed with his son; Landailyn was loyal and had no reason for making up this 'wild tale' as it might seem.

"Guards!" He called to the two usually stationed outside, before the front entrance. "Take these two to separate cells." He instructed, when they reached him. But soon turned a hard stare on them, when they did not make a single movement. "I said take them...!"

Wingdun sighed loudly, dropping his innocence act and cutting Thranduil off. "Save your breath, 'my lord'. You see, they work for me now." His sarcastic tone was also back, and with one nod from him, the sentries came up to seize the king by either arm.

Legolas stepped forward, prepared to render them only unconscious.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

This warning from their 'master' made him stop in his tracks and slowly look over, fearing what he would see. Exactly what he thought he had seen out of the corner of his left eye.

"I wouldn't do that." Taunted the clever Elf, now that he held Landailyn close at knifepoint.

A knife that was very familiar, as Legolas carried a pair exactly like it with his quiver.

In this ushered silence, from the west end of the Hall echoed a light rap on the doors.

Wingdun bit his lip in frustration, but never even glanced away from Legolas, making sure that he could try nothing. Whoever this was, they would have to take them hostage as well.

"Rem, would you be so kind as to answer that; I seem to be a little busy here."

Lifting its lid and reaching down into a wooden chest next to one of the various thick pillars in the room, he grabbed Landailyn's second knife from its sheath. The only one facing it, Legolas realized it was the same one his friend sat her weapons upon, or herself, regularly when in the Great Hall. And so it was where the two malevolent Elves had hidden her quiver, when finding it after her capture.

Rembaryn grinned with the pleasure of carrying out the request.

The door creaked and groaned, revealing an obviously wearied person from their travel filled day. Alone and weaponless he stood, his wife still in the stables with their horses behind the palace. Dark were his features, his shoulder-length hair unkempt, and face unshaven. A Human.

Recognizing the former Ranger in an instant, the prince and captain hated that their friend had obviously come to visit them, only to find them in a dangerous situation he could get caught up in.

Startled that he should be there, Legolas quickly shook out of it. "Run, Strider!"

Although completely bewildered to what in all of Arda was happening, he would obey his friend's command; noting Thranduil and Landailyn were being held against their will. But he had remained frozen there too long and the Elf that had opened the door to him held an oddly familiar looking long-knife to his chest. Holding his hands in the air, he stepped inside.

With a bang, Rembaryn slammed the heavy door back into place.

"Well! Now this is interesting indeed!" Called Wingdun for everyone to hear, slowly moving farther away with his once again prisoner.

Landailyn could not have helped getting out of Wingdun's forceful grab at her. She had become dizzy again and was caught off guard, but she still scolded herself for being retaken yet again. Reminding her afflictively that this was much like when Faeroth had recaptured her and had very nearly killed her. But Thalawen was not here to save her this time. No foreseeing dream or vision to tell them what would happen so that they could change it.

The five stood in mute, watching one another very carefully. Wingdun and Landailyn were in front of the thrones' stairs. Rembaryn and Aragorn stood in front of the entrance, facing them. But Legolas was alone having moved more to the middle to show he would not try anything.

With a nod toward the southern hallway exit, Wingdun wordlessly ordered their new comrades to take the elder lord to the dungeons.

"No! Where are you taking him?!" Legolas demanded, as they led his father away.

"Don't worry; we'll deal with him later. This is not what we had planned...it's even better! Now...choose, Greenleaf. But, you try anything...we kill all three...and then it will be your turn."

"Yeah, choose!" Rembaryn's face glowed with excitement. "Which one will it be? Or should it be your death they are forced to witness first?"

The prince looked as though he was actually going to agree and sacrifice himself, but his two friends stopped him almost simultaneously. Telling him that that idea was not an option.

Aragorn still wasn't quite sure what was going on here. Had these two Elves just simply snapped? Why did they want to kill Legolas and his father? The Dunedan had asked himself this, but it was obvious; they wished to rule the kingdom themselves.

"Awww, see now? Your friends would die for you!" Rembaryn said; his voice filled with a bitter sweetness.

"Legolas, you can't do this to yourself. Think of your father...and your people." Landailyn pleaded, trying to ignore Wingdun's grips, which were becoming tighter on the knife's handle and on her hair.

Legolas was torn. He wouldn't wish this situation on his worst enemy. How does one decide which of his best friends lives or dies? You simply couldn't. The mere thought was mad in itself. "What would you have me do?" He replied quietly.

Landailyn looked passed him to the King of Gondor. Neither knew what they could do either. Each knew how the other felt though, for it was mutual. Like Rembaryn said, they would both die for him, they knew that much and would never let him give his own life to spare either of theirs, no matter how much they had to lose.

The traitorous Elves on the other hand were getting impatient. It was clear that the prince could not choose, so they would have to for him.

"Alright, if you cannot do it yourself..." Sighed Wingdun. "Let's see, which one is more important to you? We have Landailyn here, whom you've known since you both were mere children, who obviously loves you more than anything and gladly works hard at your home everyday since you appointed her captain nearly two years ago."

"And next we have the Human," Continued Rembaryn, as he still held Landailyn's other weapon firmly, the sharp tip against the king's closed, black coat. "Whom to you is like a brother, if I am not mistaken. You two having created a lifetime bond of friendship like no one has ever seen in our opposite races." The same bittersweet tone had remained, personally amusing himself.

Aragorn took a silent deep breath; for once he actually wished he could have the pleasure of killing these two for the distress they were placing upon his friends. The feeling was surprising and strange; he had never once wanted to hurt a single one of this race, which had always seemed so flawless to him before. He had immense respect for the Elves, having lived with them all his life.

Landailyn was watching not thirty feet away and feeling a little sorry for Aragorn, knowing how he must feel by his upset countenance.

"You know who I think it should be, Wing?" He went on.

"Who would that be, Rem?"

For a split second, his eyes narrowed wickedly at his accomplice across the room. "Both of them."


TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
Happy St. Patty's Day everyone! And glad you're feeling better, Sarah! And yes, you are correct, cuz' in my last author's notes I mentioned that Selihar was in chapter 4 of 'Shadow in the Trees'. I don't want to like tell you guys that you have to read my author's notes, cuz' if you don't want to, of course that's cool and all, I just merely suggest that you do, cuz' the reason I write them is so sometimes you will better understand stuff about the story.
Anywho, I got an email from Lord of the Rings.Net the other day saying that the Return of the King DVD is coming out May 25th! Ooo, I can't wait! And also, Thala sent me the first chapter that she wrote to the prequel, and it's coming along nicely! So I must say, good job on that, Thala!