*********Chapter 16*************
Aragorn once again rushed down the halls of Lord Celebhen's palace, almost frantic. Legolas was in danger. The Ringbearer was in danger. Middle Earth was in danger.
Aragorn approached the door to Legolas's chamber. He prayed to the Valar that his friend had returned. His prayers were answered.
Legolas sat on the bed, running his fingertips over the sharp edges of one of his White Knives. His bow sat beside him along with some arrows. The elf prince looked up in alarm as the door was opened and shut so hastily.
"Aragorn!" He exclaimed.
"Legolas!" Aragorn exclaimed at the same time.
"What is it?" Legolas asked. "You seem distressed."
"I have reason to be!" Aragorn said. He looked around cautiously and lowered his voice. "You were right!"
"About what?" The elf said.
"Celidur." Aragorn said breathlessly. "He's plotting to kill Celebhen, you and Frodo. There is a Ringwraith, and I heard them speaking down in the cellar…"
Legolas set down his knife and stood up in surprise and shock. "A Wraith? Here?"
"Yes!" The ranger said.
Legolas suddenly realized. "The voice I heard in the cellar…"
"What?"
"When I was questioning Celidur in the cellar, there was a figure that appeared out of nowhere and a voice in the dark. I went after it, but I couldn't find a thing, and then you came down…" Legolas sat back down, his head resting in his hands. Then he looked back up.
"I found something out." He said.
"So did I." Aragorn said grimly.
"Well you go first."
Aragorn sat on a carved wooden chair as he tried to decide what to say first.
"I was looking for you and I passed the cellar door. I had found you down before with Celidur, so I decided to check again. But before I opened the door, I heard voices and decided to listen in first." The ranger explained.
"Who was it?" Legolas asked, being careful to keep his voice quiet.
"It was Celidur and what sounded like a Wraith. They were speaking in the Common speech, but assuming that Celidur lied to us about that too…" His voice trailed off a bit before he continued. "The Wraith mentioned Sauron several times. Apparently he and Celidur struck a deal of some sort."
"What does Celebhen, Frodo and I have to do with this?" questioned the elf prince.
"That was part of the deal." Aragorn said. "The Wraith wanted Celidur to kill Celebhen and his kin in order to allow the destruction of the Nimar. He wanted Celidur to kill Frodo so he could get The Ring. And you…"
"And I?" Legolas urged.
Aragorn looked at his friend. "I'm not sure what he meant by this, but I mean to find out. Celidur said that he wanted…your body."
Legolas said nothing but raised an eyebrow.
"He said he was sick of the one he had. He said he was once a prince and wanted to be one again. And that the Wraith give him your body like it gave him the one he has now."
Legolas eyed his human friend. "Celidur speaks of himself as if…"
"…as if he's not himself." Aragorn finished. "It's terribly confusing, like a puzzle in my mind. And I'm trying to piece the parts together but they just don't fit."
"Aragorn." Legolas said.
"Yes?"
"I also have things to tell you. They might help…to piece the puzzle together."
Aragorn gave the elf his full attention. "Tell me."
"There was one small detail about Celidur I forgot to tell you." The elf prince began. "Celidur has been having an affair with Cefielle."
"Celebhen's daughter?" Aragorn said, surprised. "How did you find this out?"
"I ran into him this morning and demanded that he tell me all he knew about the Nimar's downfall and why they hide here. He told me that something terrible happened before he was born and before the Nimar settled here. And that was the reason for their distrust of strangers…the separate language and so on."
"What happened to them?"
Legolas swallowed before continuing. "Cefielle told me that before she and her sisters were born, before the Nimar moved here, they had a brother named Mithrendol. She said he was killed by orcs. That is the terrible event. And that is why the Nimar and their rulers are so paranoid of strangers."
Aragorn nodded and joined his friend on the bed. He picked up Legola's knife off the sheets and handed it to the elf. "Now I am beginning to understand…" said the ranger. "But what of Celidur? We still have his mystery to unravel."
Legolas slide the tips of his fingers along the sharpe edge of the knife. He didn't cut himself. "I know," He replied bluntly.
Aragorn narrowed his eyebrows. The elf was brooding something, he could feel it. "Well…how do we go about it?" He asked.
Legolas sat up straighter, looked his friend in the eye and smirked. Then with a movement Aragron's eyes could not follow the elf prince brought back his arm and flung the knife across the room. It whizzed close by the ranger's head, and he ducked out of reflex, but then relaxed when he heard the thud of the knife striking something other than himself.
Aragorn looked over his shoulder and saw that Legolas's knife had hit the door to the room. It was sticking out perfectly perpendicular to the surface of the wood, embedded quite deeply. Looking closer, Aragorn noticed that the door had been carved into the shape of an elf holding a basket of fruits. And that the knife was protruding from the carved elf's head.
Looking back at Legolas, Aragorn grinned nervously. "You make your point quite vividly, my friend."
*************Personal thingy*************
AN: Sorry this one was so short, but ain't this the perfect place to end? A good cliffhanger? You all are thinking "noooo…" but hey! I'll update soon, promise!!