Hi again! Sorry for the wait, it's been a very busy week. I also added a little more to the third sequel to touch it up. Believe me, that was hard to do. I hate writing character deaths…whoops! Shouldn't have said that. Anyway, here's the next chapter which takes it a little farther. Remember 'this' means thought, "this" means it is spoken out loud.

Reviewer Responses

The White Werewolf= You're on the right track a little bit. I'll just say that all three sequels are interconnected but you won't see how until the third one.
InsomniacBoarder= For Daendil's fate you'll have to read the rest of the story. And thank you for asking about Lossarnach, I had to go change a little something that you'll see later.
Seed-of-Flame= Thanks for reviewing, you're right Evil Skittle does cause a lot of trouble. What will I do with her?
arwens-light= I wrote Lady Eluial and asked her for a dress for you…but then I realized that I didn't know how many stamps to use. Sorry! Congrats on your volleyball game. It's a cool sport to watch.
Alia G.L.= The answers are: You'll see, you'll see, and…you'll see. Sorry, I can't give anything away, but keep reading and you'll find out!
Arahiril= They are sweet, aren't they? I can't wait to see how PJ treats them in the EE. As for the accents, I hadn't thought about it either until I decided I wanted to give them one. Hey, maybe I'll have to write a Middle Earth "My Fair Lady" kind of thing with them!
Rana Ningue= Thanks for your encouragement! I love any input you can give me. And if Faramir stayed out of trouble, what would we fanfic authors do? We need trouble to live
cleasmile= Hmmm does it have to happen? =D Don't worry, there is a third sequel with all of them in it. Except a few people. Well, just read and you'll see.
the evil witch queen= You're right, they do pick locks. I tried melting the lock, but that didn't work either. Thanks for reviewing!

"Daendil seemed too confident last night. It is almost as if he is not worried about the outcome of the investigation." Faramir stood silently as Aragorn paced the room and spoke of the previous night's Council.

However, before the Steward could speak, a guard knocked on the door. He entered at the King's command. "My lords, forgive my interruption, but there is word from the North Gate. Our lady, the Queen's, family has come into the city."

Eyebrows rose identically on Aragorn and Faramir, a trait both had learned from their foster father. Thanking the guard, Aragorn dismissed him and turned to his brother. "We had better prepare ourselves for them. I wonder why they come so soon after the messenger?"

"Does it matter?" Faramir smiled at the thought that his family was here. "I will go get Éowyn, she will want to thank Ada for the dress. The sun has only been up for an hour, so I would guess she is still asleep. The wedding preparations have tired her."

Leaving Aragorn, Faramir and the ever-present Captain Beregond of the Steward's personal guard made their way down to the Sixth Level. They came to Éowyn's stone house quickly, but no one answered Faramir's knocks. Finally, Faramir just opened the door and stepped inside. The two men's senses instantly came alert at the smell of death. They found the first dead bodies in the main hall and Faramir recognized them as Éowyn's servants. Beregond let out a shrill birdcall and almost immediately five members of the White Guard appeared at their side. Faramir didn't even have time to be annoyed at Beregond for having him followed, he was already running up the stairs two at a time.

"Éowyn!" He rushed into her room, finding it horribly empty. "Éowyn!"

Beregond was only two feet behind him. With a calm, practiced eye the Captain surveyed the room. He quickly spotted the flickering candle on the wooden table, melted down to a mere nub that meant that it had been lit for quite some time. Nearby fluttered a piece of parchment. Beregond picked it up and after reading it handed it to his lord. It read simply:

Down with Lossarnach!

As Faramir read the note the other guards entered the room. "My lord, we found no one. The servants are all dead, but there is no sign of Lady Éowyn."

A groan caught their attention, the guards drawing their weapons. Faramir saw the fallen figure of Éowyn's maid and rushed to her side, noting the sword wound in her shoulder. "Lady Fulla, what happened?" The only response was another groan. Faramir turned to Beregond. "Captain, take her to the Houses of Healing. Quickly, she is the only witness we have! She may know what happened to Éowyn."

Back at the King's House, Aragorn and Arwen were welcoming their elven family and friends. Lord Elrond happily embraced his daughter and foster son, while Elladan and Elrohir laughingly hugged their brother and gave their little sister a kiss. Lord Glorfindel and his wife Lady Eluial received a warm welcome as well.

Aragorn led them into a parlor-room, a smile on his face. "Please sit. Tir and Lady Éowyn will join us soon. Most likely they were sidetracked by more wedding preparations. They were very grateful for the dress you sent, Ada."

Elrond opened his mouth to answer when the door burst open and Faramir rushed into the room, followed by two guards. "Tir! It is good…" The elf lord stopped as he saw his youngest foster son's face. "Tir? What has happened."

Faramir's normally sparkling gray eyes were now dull. "She is gone."

Aragorn stood and walked over to his brother, followed directly by the rest of the family. "Who is?"

"Éowyn. Her servants are all dead save one, and Éowyn has disappeared. The only clue is this." He handed the note to Aragorn, but his eyes were on his father. "Ada…"

Elrond quickly enveloped his son in a hug. "We will find her, Tir." The elf lord could feel the tension in his son's shoulders as Faramir tried not to break down.

Aragorn frowned at the parchment in his hands. "This is not good. The moment this gets out there will be an uproar. The people of Lossarnach have had a close bond with Éowyn and the Rohirrim ever since the marriage of Thengel to Morwen of Lossarnach."

Glorfindel looked over Aragorn's shoulder at the note. "You said one servant is still alive?"

Having collected himself, Faramir pulled away from his foster father. "Éowyn's maid, Fulla, survived the attack and is in the Houses of Healing. But we do not know when she will awake, if ever! We must go after her now!"

The king placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Calm, Tir. If they wanted her dead they would not have kidnapped her." Ignoring Faramir's flinch at the word 'dead', he continued. "We must call the council together. Éowyn is not just your fiancée, Tir, she is also the sister to the king of Rohan, our greatest ally. This affects all of Gondor."

Elrond shook his head, an uneasy feeling in his heart. "Which is most likely exactly what they want."

Éowyn's eyes fluttered open, her head pounding. For a moment she panicked with the sky above her instead of the ceiling of her room and her hands and feet bound, until she remembered the events of that night. She sat straight up, wincing as the woods around her spun. "Careful now, lady. 'opping up like that will give you a 'eadache."

A hand steadied her, though it took a moment for Éowyn to piece together what the voice that belonged to the hand had said. The White Lady looked up and focused her eyes on the woman in front of her. The woman was dressed in trousers and a tunic like a man, her brown hair tied up with a tattered string. Dark brown eyes stared out from a tanned face. "Who are you."

The woman smiled, her white teeth gleaming. "My name is Naicalle, lady. My brother, 'e the one that brought you 'ere, 'is name is Moradanur. Mouthful, is it not it? Usually I just call him Danny. Anyway, 'e runs our band of scalawags and ruffians."

Éowyn took in her surroundings. She sat off to the side of a small camp of about 10 men. Naicalle seemed to be the only woman in the band. Éowyn turned cold eyes on her female captor. "I demand to know why you have taken me!"

Naicalle chuckled. "Captives usually 'ave no right to demand anything."

"What need have you for a captive?"

The dark-haired woman's smile faded and a heavy look came to her eyes. "The war destroyed our 'omes, lady. We turned to thieven' and looting to feed us. Some man up north came to us and promised us lots o' gold if we take you 'ostage for 'im. Says 'e wants a bit of land for us Lossarnachrim and needed you gone in order to demand it."

Éowyn had a sinking feeling that this had something to do with the problems in Imduinath and that Lord Daendil was the culprit. She looked again at the men in the camp. Most were thin and haggard, some had no shoes even though it was close to winter. She had no idea that some of the people of Gondor had been reduced to this in order to survive. "Naicalle, you must know that I am the sister of the king of Rohan and the betrothed of the Steward of Gondor. They would pay all of you most handsomely for my return."

Naicalle sniffed and rolled her eyes. "Aye, right before they take off our 'eads for treason."

"Naicalle…"

"Listen, lady," Naicalle looked at her sternly, "We 'ave followed Danny and he 'as never done wrong by us. I trust 'im more than I'd trust some noble sop from Minas Tirith who doesn't give a wit about us lower folk."

Éowyn glared at the kidnapper. "That 'sop' is my future husband and he cares about everyone, especially those less fortunate than him. Mark my words, though. He will come after me and it would do you well to just send me home before he reaches you."

Naicalle gripped Éowyn's arm tightly but the shieldmaiden didn't flinch. "You actually think 'e will? You are touched in the 'ead, lady! Men like that don't care what 'appens to us, they can always get another foolish girl to believe their sweet talking. 'e is not coming for you ."

Éowyn stared at her, undaunted. "You sound like you have experienced that sort of behavior. I can tell you, though, Faramir will come for me."

Naicalle scowled and turned away, "Touched in the 'ead, you are. Touched in the 'ead."

Éowyn lay down to calm her spinning head, the drug still wearing off. She didn't know how much time had passed since she had been knocked unconscious, though she doubted it was very long. Her thoughts turned to Faramir. He would be frantic with worry and probably raring to go after her. 'I hope he does not set off rashly. I do not like this situation, there is more to this than it seems.'

Fulla regained consciousness during the night, though the healers in the Houses of Healings were not there to witness her waking up. Too weak to yell, Fulla laid in bed trying to remember what had happened and why her shoulder felt like it was on fire. She had been walking up the stairs to Lady Éowyn's room… 'The bandits! They killed the guards…I went to the Lady's room but they burst in before we could leave.' The maid gulped, remembering the pain as the sword had hit her.

Without warning a figure appeared, standing next to her. His face was covered by the darkness but she somehow knew he was up to no good. "I see you have not died. Pity." Fulla's eyes widened as the figure raised a knife. Fortunately the sounds of approaching footsteps stopped its descent. The figure hissed and pulled back, but Fulla sensed his eyes still on her. "Know this, maid. If you speak of that night to anyone, someone will come to finish what the others started." Then the figure was gone.

Two healers entered the room only moments later, but they did not notice any difference in the maid's condition. The fright from the late night visit and the pain of her wounds had caused her to faint.

Poor Fulla! So, what should she do? To tell, or not to tell: that is the question.