Vial of Treachery
Fiondra was dumped unceremoniously onto a wooden chair. A candle was lit and its light burned her eyes, after being in the rough sack for a considerable amount of time. When her eyes had adjusted, Fiondra glared at her captor. In the dim lighting, she could not make out his face as he removed the gag from her mouth.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "Why have you taken me here?"
The elf bowed low. "My sincerest apologies, milady. I was forced to." Then hearing footsteps travel down the street, he shoved the knotted cloth back into her mouth and hurried out of the building.
Fiondra heard him conversing quietly with someone, an elleth by the sound of her voice. Fiondra's suspicions were confirmed when the conversation stopped and Alqua walked through the door.
"Why, hello dear," Alqua said in her sickly sweet voice. She gave Fiondra a mocking smile as she pulled off her cloak. Alqua pulled out the offending gag and Fiondra gasped for clean air.
"Don't 'dear' me," Fiondra spat after regaining her breath. "What do you want with me?"
"Watch it," Alqua snapped. "I could easily kill you here and now."
Fiondra arched an eyebrow. "But you won't," she decided. "You are too obviously the only elf who has a motive to kill me."
Alqua thought and said sarcastically, "You are a smart one, aren't you? You're right though. Besides, if you really love Legolas you'll eventually die no matter what."
No longer willing to bait the other elleth, Fiondra whispered, "What do you mean?" Her eyes held fear and her muscles tensed.
Alqua's eyes shined venomously. Gleefully she said, "I have a potion that you will slip into Legolas' wine at the Midsummer Festival. It will make him fall instantly in love with me." She thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose he won't fall in love, but it will cloud his senses so that he forgets about you and he'll become enamored with me instead. Then we will be wed, and I shall be Queen!"
"No!" Fiondra cried, terror leaking past the calm dignity she had tried to uphold. "I love Legolas, and he...he loves me. I won't do it. His love is all that I have."
"Oh, but you will," Alqua replied evilly. "If you don't, I will kill Legolas. I can easily arrange a poison for that. And not only will you destroy your love in that way, but you will also leave King Thranduil without an heir."
Fiondra raced through her options. If she agreed to do it, she would never be able to be wit Legolas and she would die of a broken heart, like her mother before her. If she refused to do it, Alqua would kill Legolas and Fiondra did not doubt that Alqua had the power to. Alqua was a threat to everyone in Mirkwood. If she could somehow warn Legolas...
"By the way, don't even think of telling anyone of our arrangement, for then I would surely have to kill Legolas and many more innocent elves." Alqua took great delight in watching Fiondra's face fall. Finally I will have my revenge. Tears welled up in Fiondra's eyes and Alqua asked, "Do we have a bargain?"
Choking back a sob, Fiondra nodded. She let her head hang in defeat, brown tresses covering her face from Alqua's view. I will find some way to stop this, she told herself. I will not allow my love for Legolas to die so easily. I have to come up with a plan.
Not knowing of the stubborn elleth's thoughts, Alqua held out a small vial. She harshly said, "Be careful with this. I do not want to have to make more." Fiondra took it in her bound hands silently. "I'll be leaving now," Alqua informed her. "This is my cousin's home and she will loan you some clothes to wear home. Unless of course you'd prefer to go home in your nightgown..."
Fiondra struggled to go after the blond female, but she only succeeded in falling off of the chair. Alqua laughed and fastening her cloak, she called, "You can come out now Arien." Then in a lower tone she reminded Fiondra, "Don't forget. Midsummer Festival. Legolas' wine." With those as her parting words, she left Fiondra to silence.
X X X X X
Fiondra fought at her bonds, trying to break them. She rolled over to the stone fireplace, where she rubbed her wrists back and forth across the edge of a sharp chip of slate.
"Here; let me help you," an elleth quietly said.
Fiondra recognized the lilting accent of the elleth. "Arien?" she asked in astonishment. "You're Alqua's cousin? But I thought you were a maid at the palace..."
Arien smiled sadly and nodded. "I am a maid. I come home at night. And just because I am a maid, does that mean that I cannot also be cousin to Alqua?" She started untying the bonds around Fiondra's hands and feet.
"But she's so, different from you," Fiondra protested. "Why do you allow her to push you around?"
"For the same reason you do," Arien said wisely. She finished with the ties and Fiondra stood up. A moment later, she did the same. Then she whispered, "She threatened my love."
Startled, Fiondra exclaimed, "You can't mean to say that you also love Legolas!"
Arien shook her head wildly. "No, Lady Fiondra, not the Prince."
Impatiently, Fiondra asked, "Then who?" After she had uttered the words, she realized how rude they had been. She hurried to add, "But only if you wish to tell me."
Arien smiled and tenderly, as if in a dream, she murmured, "Aglarsîr."
Fiondra gaped at her, but under her breath, she muttered, "I certainly wasn't expecting that." Louder she asked, "Does he return your feelings?"
Arien turned away abruptly. "He does not even know that I exist," she said in a flat voice.
"Well, I'll try to help you change that," Fiondra said cheerfully. "Now, do you have some clothes that I may borrow?"
Dumbfounded, Arien said, "Yes, of course." She led the way to her bedroom. She started pulling out clothes and tossing them on her neatly made bed. "How do you propose to help me?" Arien said curiously. "And why would you want to?"
Fiondra smiled. "I'm doing this because truthfully, I haven't any friends and I'd like to consider you the best friend I have right now, not including Legolas and Gimli."
At this Arien's face shone like her namesake. Arien said happily, "Alqua always made sure that I had no friends. She didn't want me better than her. I would be perfectly honored to call you my best friend as well." The two ellith embraced and Fiondra continued.
"From now on, you may call me by my first name only. None of this 'my Lady' or any such thing," she said firmly. Arien laughed and nodded her head in agreement. "Now, as for helping you, all you need is an introduction to Aglarsîr. You can do the rest," Fiondra told her.
Arien stared at her with a puzzled look. "How do I 'do the rest' as you said?"
Fiondra refrained from laughing aloud when she realized the elleth was quite serious. Arien's vivid blue eyes continued the question and she raised her dark eyebrows. Fiondra rushed, "Isn't it obvious? You're not exactly homely. Quite the opposite in fact. You've got silky, wavy, black hair and intense blue eyes. Your skin is the color of porcelain, not lightly tanned like mine. And your figure is perfect since you're so tall and thin. I'm rather short and slender. You're gorgeous and Aglarsîr would have to be a fool not to notice you."
Arien flushed and this time Fiondra did laugh aloud. "You're beautiful too, Lady...I mean, Fiondra. But Alqua always tells me that no ellon would want me."
"Do you always believe everything that Alqua says?" Fiondra asked her. Arien looked away. "I guess so," Fiondra said sheepishly.
"Alqua has always been the more outgoing elleth out of the two of us," Arien explained. "We're close in age, but not in looks or personality. The only physical resemblance we have is our eyes and our build. Emotionally, we're complete opposites. She's bolder, like Aglarsîr. I suppose that's why he prefers her." Alqua said this last statement sadly.
"Believe me, I don't think Alqua will be any competition for you any more," Fiondra said wryly. "All you have to do is dress in brighter colors, not that drab brown that makes you fade with the woodwork in the palace."
Arien smiled and held up a gown of rich violet. Fiondra nodded approvingly. Turning serious, Arien asked, "How do you plan to stop Alqua from harming the Prince?"
"Ah, so you heard her new target?" Fiondra sighed. "I have no idea."
Arien lifted her chin. "I will help you overcome her the best that I can," she said gravely.
Fiondra hugged her newfound friend. "Thank you. I'd be lost on my own. I have no idea how to stop Alqua."
"Neither do I." Arien wrinkled her nose. "But we'll think of something." She suddenly broke out of her reverie. "What am I thinking? Let's find you some clothes that will fit you."
X X X X X
A month passed, leaving only three weeks to Midsummer. During that month, Fiondra only saw a glimpse or two of Legolas, and that at a distance. Gimli came over to Fiondra's home a few times though, and after gorging himself on her cooking, he shared news from the palace.
"Well, lass," he began. "The elf sends you his greetings. He wishes he could come and see you for himself, but the king is working him ragged. King Thranduil says that Legolas needs to prepare himself for the throne before he becomes busy with a wife." Gimli chuckled and took another sip of the wine that Fiondra had poured for him. He belched and continued, "And until he becomes engaged. We can't go off on any adventures; not off to Fangorn Forest, nor any mountains. Midsummer comes too slowly."
Her cheeks tinged pink, Fiondra murmured, "I agree." She busied herself by tending a tear in one of her skirts.
Sounding like a father, Gimli said, "Come now lass. I'm not blind. I know that you and Legolas have become, er, romantically involved. I'm certain he'll choose you to be his Queen. There's no need to pretend that he doesn't love you."
Fiondra whispered, "I wouldn't be so sure." A tear slipped down her cheek.
Gimli asked in concern, "What's wrong, Fiondra?"
Smiling awkwardly, she wiped at her face. "Nothing!" she sniffled with an overly cheery voice. "Nothing at all."
Gimli eyed her suspiciously, but he let the subject drop. "I'd best leave now, lass. 'Tis getting late, and I still don't know my way around this village as well as I'd like."
Fiondra got up, setting down her mending, and showed him to the door. "Thank you for visiting me," she said with a calm smile. She kissed him on the cheek and he turned a ruddy color.
"It wasn't a problem," the dwarf said gruffly. "I'll see you again soon." Gimli exited and Fiondra was again left alone with only her worries to visit her.
X X X X X
Ellon – male elf
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