A CONSPIRACY UNMASKED
By : mirkwood-elf-2931


CHAPTER 13


It had been a long time since Arwen had been to Landailyn's house. She and Thalawen hadn't even had the chance to go there before Thalawen's kidnapping and the journey to Isengard. She arrived where she thought it was, the house was familiar looking and once she knew she was in the right place, she knocked upon the single entrance door.

A woman, tall and blonde of course, adorned in a gown of dark green answered. It was not Landailyn, although she much resembled her.

"Good morning. Is Landailyn at home?"

"Princess Arwen!" Andolan gasped. "Or should I say Queen Arwen! Oh, we have not seen you in so long!" She hugged the young girl and welcomed her inside, by lightly pushing her with her hand against her back, closing the door behind them.

"Good to see you again, my lady. I believe you can find Landailyn in her room. Since Legolas made her take the day off, she is going out of her mind with boredom. I was just thinking of putting her to work around here." Mylthar half joked to their guest.

Arwen laughed. "A pleasure to see you as well. And if I know her, I don't believe she would turn that down, just so she could be doing something!"

It was true; Landailyn was utterly bored. The day was not passing as quickly as she had hoped. She was very active as most Elves were, and would much rather be out doing something, anything to keep useful, rather than lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Even her love of reading had not helped, when earlier she had tossed aside a book; she just couldn't keep her mind interested.

But a double knock that came upon her bedroom door soon changed this.

"Landailyn?"

"Yes, mother?" She called dully.

"There is someone here to see you."

At that, her head, positioned at the foot of the bed, jerked up from the flat surface and her eyes stared for a long moment at the door. Who could it be here to see her? It was probably Legolas, she thought, hoping they were going to need her today after all.

Arwen smiled at Andolan, as they both heard Landailyn jump up quickly from her bed, just before the older she-Elf disappeared down the hall and went back to her work in the kitchen. They knew Landailyn would consider this to be her 'highlight' of the day.

She opened the doorway to her room, but it was not the prince. However, she was just as happy to see this person. "Arwen!" She threw her arms around her. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see you but briefly last night!"

Arwen grinned back at her, as the Silvan Elf let her go. "That's why I'm here. And I figured you could use some company."

"Yes, it's much appreciated! Come in! Make yourself at home!"

She did, wandering around the large room a bit, before seating herself at the foot of Landailyn's bed. Behind her, a cool northern wind blew the light green draping curtains of three tall windows, and in at her long dark hair, brushing some of it from her back up over her shoulders. At this, she turned her attention upon Landailyn's, surprised to see hers completely down from any braids and that she wore a long gray beaded dress instead of her usual tunics and leggings. Arwen wondered if she always wore elegant clothing when at home, for she had only been to her house four times now, not recalling what she had woren then, and had never seen Landailyn wearing anything but warrior attire outside of her home, with only very few exceptions. "By the way," She turned to another subject in her mind before it was forgotten. "Legolas sends his apology."

At the mere mention of the prince, Landailyn sighed, dropping down at the head of the bed. "I'm not mad at him, as he probably thinks, but why did he have to give me the day off when I'm perfectly fine?"

"Because he cares about you; he loves you and does not want to see you hurt in any way."

"I know, but some things he does can still annoy me to no end, just like when we were children." She said, folding her arms in front of her chest.

The younger she-Elf chuckled. "You sound like Thala used to." She paused; realizing she had just spoke of her sister. She thought about Thalawen everyday, but until now, it had been six months since she hadn't even mentioned her aloud to anyone, not even Aragorn. "Do you realize that in two months it will be a year since she has left us."

Landailyn only smiled; not a reaction most would have had at a sad memory as that was, but she was looking over at the newest object in her room that Arwen had yet to notice. "Yes, but I do not believe she has ever truly left us."

Arwen glanced up at her friend. There was something about her tone and the smile on her face that told the Elven queen she must know something she wasn't telling her. Following her gaze to the nightstand beside the bed they sat on, she saw a thinly bound book and next to it, a vase. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it didn't register right away what was sitting in it and what significance it had.

After returning home from Rohan, Landailyn had put the lily by itself in a clear glass vase, not bothering with any water.

"That flower...it only comes from Gondor..." Arwen glanced at Landailyn once more, creasing her brows in slight confusion. This was just as Elladan had wondered, as she stared at it again in awe.

"Indeed," She reached over to bring it out of its container. "The same type we threw in the river at Thala's memorial."

At that moment, Arwen gasped, as she was handed the delicate flower. "But that would mean..."

"She came to you in your dream, Arwen. It was really she." Landailyn released a short sigh, her smile disappearing. "On that day, ere we went out to fight the Orcs...you seen me come down the stairs from the second level, did you not?" Arwen was nodding, so she could go on. "I had been in Thalawen's guestroom. I went to see her because I hadn't seen her since three days before in the market, as she didn't even come to dinner that night like she said she was going to. I was angry with her and I yelled at her, because she wasn't spending time with her friends. She was too busy waiting and watching for a danger that might or might not come. She was only protecting us..."

Arwen still did not know that Thalawen had foreseen the battle and Landailyn did not plan to mention it.

"Oh, Landy. I had no idea..."

"But in Rivendell I went to her house. I seemed to feel a strong connection with her, so I spoke to her." Her smile was slowly returning, as she explained further. "Accidentally, I fell asleep in a chair in her room...just after I asked her for forgiveness. The next morning Elladan woke me and he found that beside the chair; it has kept ever since and without water."

"Thala left it for you."

"That's what Elladan said."

Silence overtook them for a time and eventually the captain was given back the flower and it was returned to its resting place. Then her face fell to take on a deep gloom. "Arwen? Can you keep a secret?"

The younger woman stared at her. There was no delectation in Landailyn's voice this time; something was wrong. "Of course; anything."

"I have recently overheard my mother and father...speaking of matters when they think I do not hear. They are going to leave for the Grey Havens."

Arwen knew first hand what it was like to lose a parent. All of their friends did. She and the twin's mother was gone. Aragorn's father had died long ago and his mother more recently. Legolas' mother was also gone. And both of Thalawen's parents had left together for the Grey Havens, when she was just a child. Landailyn was the only one out of the seven of them who still had both of hers with her. For this she felt grateful that nothing had yet taken them away, but time was growing late for their kind to linger in this land.

No one knew when every last Elf would be gone.

A teardrop slipped in swiftness down Arwen's cheek, as she slowly blinked. She knew her own father would be leaving within the next year. She felt badly for Landailyn; the Wood-Elf did not yet know what it was like to lose even one parent.

"I will not even be able to see them off at the harbor. If I hear them, I..." Her voice began to waver as she tried her best attempt to compose herself, although there were many tears she could not prevent from falling. "...I do not want to leave! Not yet, I can't!"

Arwen arose from the end of the bed, coming to sit before the women that now almost appeared younger than she, bringing her trembling friend close. "Shhh, you're not going anywhere."

Landailyn knew it was not truly her parent's choice; they would stay with their only child if they could. She was simply afraid to be alone for the rest of her days in Middle-earth with no family; to everyday come home to a silent empty house. She often wondered now, how Thalawen had done the same for so long.

"Look at me, Landy." Arwen pulled away from the light haired Elf to look into her eyes, a hand gently on her cheek. "It is not your time. I feel you still have many years left here with your friends...with Legolas." She paused, a small smile forming across her red shaded lips. Arwen had not taken sides when it had come to Legolas loving the two newly acquainted friends. Even though she only wished her sister could have been happy before she had died, she still did not fault Legolas for where his true feelings lay.

Landailyn shook her head. "But when my time does come...I'll never see you again...just like Thala."

"Yes," Arwen swallowed hard, a small sigh to accompany it. "That may be true, but you'll always know that we were all best friends. She loved you, Landy, and so do I, and Aragorn and my brothers. You did know that they were also staying...?"

She nodded. "They told me, when I was there to take Ezril."

"They wish to maintain Rivendell as long as possible. They love it so much there."

This made Landailyn smile. "Aye, it's a very beautiful and peaceful place. So was this forest...once..."

"It still is." Arwen countered. "Thalawen thought of this realm as much as she did her own home. She told me she thought it was a magnificent place and wished to return here often."

"Really?" Landailyn brightened, seeming very glad to hear that her friend had thought so much of she and Legolas' home, despite what dark existents tended to lie in other areas of it.

Arwen could see how much her sister's opinions mattered to the military captain. Much in the same way they had always mattered to her, remembering the way she and Thalawen used to have their differences, especially in age, and how it had seemed forever before they finally became friends.

"Arwen?"

The queen had been looking away, lost in the memories of her past.

"Tell me about Thala...please?"

All Landailyn's troubled feelings over having an unwanted day off were forgotten, as the rest of the day was spent with the she-Elves telling each other many accounts of their childhoods and their friends, when they had not yet met one another.


TBC ...

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Thala:
DAMMIT! STOP TALKING ABOUT ME!!!!!

mirkwood-elf-2931 :
hahaha! I will talk about your character as much as I want, Thala! And you can't stop me! ;)
Hmmm, sorry about that everyone...Thala was spending the night the weekend after I posted chapter 11 and she was reading ahead since I was done with the next few chapters, and decided to put that note in for me! LOL Also we were working on our Pirates of the Caribbean fic...that we're having as much difficulty writing and even more difficulty titling as Thala is having with the prequel!
But let's see, 'A Conspiracy Unmasked' is from the 5th chapter's name in The Fellowship of the Ring...'An Unexpected Journey' was changed from the first chapter in The Hobbit, called: An Unexpected Party...and 'Shadow in the Trees' was made up from the fight between Landailyn and Thalawen in its 13th chapter, cuz' at that point Thalawen was all in black and up in a treetop and that's when she first reveals herself as being turned evil and tries to kill her friend. So, there isn't really much left that pertains to the prequel from anymore chapter titles of the books or any other Tolkien book I have...but I'm sure we'll think of something quickly enough, cuz' even if the stories were ready to begin posting, they couldn't come out until they were titled of course...and Pirates of the Caribbean is different, cuz' the only book I have for it has no chapter names to give me ideas! :(
Anyway, hope everyone has a good Easter, cuz' I won't be posting again till next Wednesday like usual!