Disclaimer: I own none of Tolkien's creations and only lay claim to my own humble creatures.

Chapter Quote: "Don't you remember me? I'm Victoria."

Chapter Fifty-Four

Trial and Error

I wondered how elves punished their prisoners since, of course, for the three years since Gilloth had been slaughtered I'd been fed warg crud about elves- I had this vague picture in my head of elves, grinning madly as the condemned was beaten to death with a cat o' nine. That was what Teacher would have wanted me to believe.

But then I had met Legolas- and I guess the image faded. Maybe I'd be decapitated if found guilty- maybe they'd burn me at the stake like a witch. Though that sounded more medieval then it did elven.

So why am I thinking such grim and dim thoughts the day my fate was to be decided? Well... you would too if an escort of maybe... a dozen full armed warriors dragged you in chains to what I supposed was a courthouse. It wasn't like I was going to ask anybody... some of them might have been happier if I dropped dead then and there.

I had spent occasional days wandering about in the company of other elves before- mostly for the fun of disguising myself. But I had never seen so many elves in one place before until now. Hell, I could even see a few children staring solemnly at me as they brought me forward. Did I mention that elves don't jeer? They just stare silently at you instead. Try and think about which is worse- a thousand elves brandishing fists and cursing you- or a thousand elves all staring with bright, pointed gazes.

I felt sickness churning in my stomach as I entered and chills ran down my spine. Where is Legolas? I found myself searching in rising panic for a way to escape this nightmare as they led me forward, through the courtroom, up to where the king sat.

I'm sorry... did I say led? I forgot to mention that I was sort of on a stretcher- my legs had refused to work properly when the warriors had come for me. Talk about a blow to your reputation. I was once the feared... and now they were fearless. I felt dizzy with nervousness and ill with fever. How would they kill me, I wondered again. For how could they ever let me go free?

And then I saw him- seated next to his father... and my fears subsided. I had never seen him in so fancy an attire before. Upon our first meeting he'd been half-dead and half-naked and my original plan had been to use him for ransom. At least... that's what I had told myself in the beginning. As the days had gone by I realized I was just tired of killing people. But Legolas... he looked wonderful now.

There was a silver crown resting upon his arched brow. He was dressed in a tunic of light green and silver, and his golden hair had been combed and braided to perfection. His grey eyes seemed to sparkle in the soft light streaming in from the small windows cut into the walls of stone. He was doing his best to look regal- which I imagined was what his father would have wished. But I could still see concern burning brightly from behind his impassive mask.

The King of Mirkwood was an entirely different story. Rigid, glaring, and tall- he glowered down at me with grey eyes flashing and his body taunt as I was brought before him. Disgust and disappointment- that was what I felt as the stretcher stopped and two of the warriors hoisted me to my feet. An elf standing nearest to me came forward and he began speaking quickly in Sindarin.

My knees were buckling and the warriors gripped my arms tighter. I was having trouble concentration- it took most of my consciousness just to remain upright. Eventually my legs gave out altogether and the warriors lowered me into a waiting chair. I hoped they were happy- with their glowering stares and stern faces. I wouldn't be attacking anyone, anymore. I forced my thoughts back to the present and I blinked- focusing on the final words the announcer was saying.

"...my king, this is Gwenél, the slaughterer of the innocents, the ghost of Mirkwood."

There were no boo's, no catcalls. Only grim silence as Thranduil stood- and my trial began.

Did you know Mirkwood has a flag? I couldn't describe it to you- I felt too dizzy to focus on anything for more then a second or two. But I could seem them decorating the walls of the room. More then two hundred feet in length- the courtroom held whispers of punishment and pleadings for mercy. Mercy- that was something I was not expecting today.

Thoughts kept buzzing in my ears that seemed completely foreign to me- a strange voice kept ringing in my ears as I struggled to stay alert and fight the annoying tug at my consciousness. The room seemed to dim and I blinked once or twice, getting lost as the elves continued to discuss my crimes and witness were brought... were brought...

What was I thinking? Where am I? Everything was so fuzzy... "Life support... she'll never wake up... never wake up." "Vic... can you hear me?" Mom? I saw my mother's face momentarily in my mind and a strange beeping filled my head...

I grunted as my wounded shoulder collided with something hard. I blinked back awake and I realized I was on the floor- and whoever had been speaking had fallen silent. Crap... oh crap. I gritted my teeth as I felt strong, cold hands slowly pull me up into my seat. I was shaking with the effort of staying upright. How can I possibly do this? There were noises now- Legolas was standing, was speaking in hushed tones to his father.

My prince looked furious- but Thanduil said nothing in reply to his pleadings. Then his silver eyes met my own- and his love burned deep inside of me and in a single instant, I found a wisp of strength to go on with.

Thranduil was speaking. "Attend to the prisoner." The king said to the warrior that I could sense was still standing beside me. With an effort- I tilted my head up to look into my protector's face. I recognized him from somewhere... his eyes seemed hauntingly familiar...

"This... is ours?"

"She is Cudir." Elenowen said lightly, sitting beside him and leaning on his shoulder to look into Turwethiel's face. "Yes, she is ours."

It came to me suddenly- like when you can't remember the words to your favorite song and suddenly they're jumping off your tongue. "Cudir." I whispered, my voice failing.

He had been staring straight ahead with a rigid hand on my shoulder to keep me from falling off the seat. I wondered if he couldn't hear me... or was simply ignoring me. The latter sounded rather un-elflike, especially for what I remembered of him, so I tried again. "Cudir?"

He blinked and an expression something like surprise flashed over his face. He looked down at me, his eyes wide and his face resuming its emotionless mask. "How do you know my name?" He growled softly, frowning. I blinked, stared into his face until I was sure I had his full attention.

"Don't you remember me? I'm Victoria."

She couldn't be serious. He hardly even remembered a Victoria. An image drifted back slowly into his memory- hardened by years of loss. He stared into the drawn face of the woman beside of him. It disgusted him to even touch her. This woman was responsible for the death of his wife, child, and sister. How did she know him?

The memory came back suddenly, violently, and he shuddered and his face went blank. She was still looking up at him, wincing as he dug his fingers into his shoulder. He couldn't breathe... there was no way... Thranduil was speaking now, was asking if there was anyone who would come to her defense...

"Milord?" Cudir cried out, his heart palpitating so fast he feared it would burst from his chest.

Thranduil stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at him. "Speak." He commanded.

"May I have a word alone with the prisoner?" He asked, hardly breathing as he fought to regain any semblance of self-control he still contained. The king looked surprised, but he nodded. The woman was in his arms in a hardly a moment, stiffening as he put pressure on all of her wounds. He didn't cared if she suffered... he hardly cared for anything at all. He would squeeze the truth from her himself... still refusing to call her what she said was her name as he fled from the courtroom.

Cudir was hardly gentle. He had spent years in Mirkwood's army since the slaughter of his village. He was a hardened veteran... he was one of the highest ranking officers his age. And he was alone. He knew how to handle criminals- and he spared the slight of a woman nothing as he retreated to an empty corridor and slammed her against a wall. Her feet dangled for a moment as his taunt muscles held her to the cold stone.

The woman gasped, her eyes clouded for a moment as she fought to get her breath.

"Victoria? Wake up! Wake up!"

The pain was back in an instant, and I was looking into Cudir's enraged face. The last I had seen of him- he had been thanking me for delivering his child. Now he looked ready to kill me on the spot. His eyes, the same color as Ana's... and suddenly all her words flooded back into my mind.

"Tell me the truth once and for all... your name is Victoria Thenindiel?" I winced at the sound of my elven name, and opened my mouth to answer and he slammed me again into the wall- I saw stars. "Answer quickly and truthfully before I kill you myself." He growled.

I gasped for air. "Your daughter was born while you were away... I helped to deliver her. Her name was Turwethiel... she had blue eyes. Like yours... like Ana's." He started to lower me down the wall as I spoke.

He looked terrible- his eyes ravenous and strained from holding back tears. "How do you know this? How could you possibly have..." His voice broke and I remember suddenly what Ana had said to me in that tent before we had left for the palace.

"All will be well, Victoria. Remember those whom love you." She hesitated. "You will not see me again... my time here has come to an end."

I felt it my palm- and I didn't even have the strength to wonder how it had gotten there. I raised my hand up weakly, and I placed it into his hand, which was currently laying slack on my shoulder. I could hear murmurs from the courthouse- but I didn't care what happened to me now. Ana had asked me to tell her brother something... and I would. I swear to the last breath in my body that I would. He looked at whatever I had given him- I didn't even know what it was.

He opened his hand- and resting in his palm was a silver locket. And on the front, a ship with wings had been painstakingly engraved. He opened it tenderly- and did not bother to hide his tears as he looked inside. There were two portraits within- hardly bigger them my thumbnail. Pictures of two elves, a man and a woman, who looked nearly identical to Cudir. He was at least 6'5"- and his body was hunched as he spoke aloud.

"I gave it to her on the night our parents passed. But I put it... I..." He turned to me with a sudden look of vehemence. "Where did you get this?"

I blinked at him in surprise. "She gave it to me."

"Who?" He persisted.

"Ana... she said... she said that she loves you... that Elenowen and Turwethiel are waiting for you at the Havens." I frowned, trying to recall the words that seemed like a half-forgotten memory. "She said... she said misses you... that she never forgot you." I pointed to the locket. "She told me to give that to you at the time of my trial... she said that you would understand. She said... that there was nothing to forgive."

"How do you know this?" He whispered hoarsely. "I buried this locket with my sister five years ago when my company was sent to bury the dead. How could you have possibly gotten this?"

"What was there to understand?" I said softly. "About the locket?"

He blinked, then gazed tenderly at the necklace in his hand. "I told her I would bring her justice... that all the world would know the truth... that nothing like that would ever happen again."

And she was there... suddenly... like a soft breeze floating off a sea. I saw her drifting evanescently about Cudir's shoulders- and apparently he saw her too. He wept- and though I could not hear what she was saying, I knew in an instant that Cudir believed me. Well... about my having seen her anyway.

"Mirkwood just isn't what it used to be." I said gently.

"No." He agreed. "It is not." He regarded me with watery eyes as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. "You did not kill them... did you?"

I smiled sadly at him and caressed his cheek. "I loved them too... how could I have possibly killed them?"

He stared for a moment- I wondered if he realized that the two of us had sank to the floor. He lifted me up effortlessly and he started back for the courthouse. "You will be proclaimed innocent." He said firmly and I shook my head in astonishment.

"If only the rest of them would only believe me as easily."

He didn't smile, but I felt the sorrow over his brow lighten. We entered the courtroom and the elves silenced. Cudir placed me back in the chair and placed the locket about his neck. Then, standing tall and magnificent before the king, he said in a loud voice. "I will speak for Victoria... for that is her rightful name." The hush that fell over the crowd had an air of astonishment and Cudir spoke again. "Victoria... is innocent."

Legolas wasn't sure if he should feel stunned or elated as Cudir stepped forward to plead Victoria's case. But whether a blessing or a curse, his father would not be so easily swayed.

"You proclaim her innocence, Warrior? State your name." Thranduil said.

"Cudir, milord. Captain of the first legion and survivor of Gilloth." There was a collective gasp about the room and Legolas noted that Victoria straightened as much as she could in her chair.

"Warrior Cudir- what do you have to say in the prisoner's defense?"

"That I knew this woman, milord. She was the adopted daughter of our village healer. She lived in peace with us for three years until the slaughter- her body was not found among the dead."

"You are sure the prisoner is the same woman?"

"Indeed, milord."

"Tell me," Thranduil continued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Why would the prisoner be innocent?"

"It is inconceivable, milord, that a single, mortal woman could slay a whole village so ruthlessly. It has already been proven that there was no true ghost of Mirkwood- nothing short of the supernatural could have been accomplished by a solitary figure."

"Then who slaughtered the villagers of Gilloth?" Thranduil demanded.

"Orcs." Victoria said sharply, speaking for the first time. "Isn't it obvious? They kidnapped your son- they had wrecked havoc in your kingdom for months. What was to stop them from attacking Gilloth? There were no warriors to defend it. It produced a powerful healing elixir from its rare trees." She cleared her throat. "I have already been questioned about my role as the ghost during the past years. I am guilty of that crime, your majesty. But I can swear truthfully by whatever you wish me to, that I did not kill the people of Gilloth."

The courtroom was alive with conversation and Thranduil silence them. "Warrior Cudir... you say this woman lived in your village... do you have any proof?"

Cudir's face blanched and his blue eyes clouded. "She helped to deliver my only child, milord."

"Where is this child?"

Cudir cleared his throat, this time replying softly. "She was killed, along with my wife and sister in the attack."

Thranduil was silent.

"If perhaps, with all due respect milord, the accused could somehow prove she lived in Gilloth... could she be called innocent?" Cudir asked.

Thranduil did not look at anyone, though his eyes flickered for a second towards his son, who was seated at the edge of his chair with his hands clenching the sides. "If the accused at bring forth evidence of her residence in the village... I will proclaim her innocent of the crime. However... her acts as Gwenél, though directed by another insurgent, shall be punished. This court is aware that Victoria Knightengale killed her former mentor when his plans became known to her, such was testified by Prince Legolas." Thranduil made a short gesture to his son and continued. "Therefore... if evidence can be give, I will announce Victoria Knightengal's innocence of the slaughter of Gilloth. But she will be banished from Mirkwood... forever." He turned his gave to Victoria, nodded respectfully at Cudir.

"You have three weeks time to get your proof, this court will reconvene upon your return."

A/N: I am soooo sorry for the lack of updates! I got my computer back and I was so happy that all I was doing whenever I got on was web design! Forgive me please! I actually didn't like this chapter very much... it was more of a filler for me because I simply didn't like it. (Shrugs) What are you going to do. So... sorry for the crappy writing, it happens every so often. But now we're off to Gilloth again and Thranduil is being nice.. And Victoria has another ally (which she seems to be short of these days). So... the next update will come (or should come) around a week from now or so... it depends on what time I have. :)

The SIMA website has a whole new look- the link is on my author's bio. Thanks a million to all who read and reviewed, you give me the inspiration to keep going when I REALLY don't want to. :) Thanks also to my beta, Kiann, without whom I'd be no where. It's midnight now- so intent was I to finish this chapter. :) So forgive all the errors I'll be sure to miss, and probably Kiann too because there are so many, and thank you all for your wonderful support:)

TO BE CONTINUED...