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Summary: When treason is suspected in the kingdom of Mirkwood, it is up to Aragorn to save the lives of Legolas and the other royals.

The Scam

Chapter 9

Hope vs. Reality

"None of this makes sense" I declared as I leaned my head against the cement wall of my cell. "They do not need me. Why can't they just end it now?"

"You cannot think like that" Elton replied as he crawled to the door of his cell. "You cannot lose hope. Not after we've already been through so much."

"And what's become of us, Elton? What have we gotten for keeping hope? It is useless to continue living in a world that we've created based on aspirations for freedom. That world does not exist. This is where we are. This is our reality" I said. I tried to shield my eyes from the rays of sunlight that were drifting into the dungeon.

Elton just shook his head. "I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe that I am going to die here. I will get revenge for my family, no matter what it takes."

I really do admire Elton for keeping the faith as long as he did. I gave up long before he did. "I'm sorry. I want to believe that I will save Legolas; that I'll come through for Thianna; that I won't fail everyone. It's just that each day I move farther and farther away from making that come true. I don't even know if Legolas is alive. We've been here for almost a month. Every day we get beaten. Every day I wonder why this is happening. Every day I find no answers."

"Do you ever think that each day you don't find any answers you are just moving closer to the day you do?" Elton asked. "It's just something to think about."

Ever since that day, I have been running that statement through my head. In essence, Elton was right. All of these days eventually led me to realizing the truth. Granted, it took a while, but I got there. I got here. Here turned out to be just as bad.

000

Rydel sat at his father's pine desk tapping his fingers. He had been alone in the kingdom now for two weeks and it had not gotten easier. He had to deal with complaints from the people of Mirkwood questioning where their king had gone. Questioning why Thranduil would leave at a time like this. Rydel tried to explain that his father had no choice, but the demands kept coming.

"How are you doing, my lord?' Darnin asked as he brought in a kettle of tea along with day's paperwork.

Rydel just clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I never wanted to be king. Not once was I jealous of what Thandarion would have to do with his life. I was glad with the status of prince. Thandarion was looking forward to this. Working intimately with the public and you. Do not take this the wrong way, Darnin, you are a good person, but this is not what I chose for myself. Thandarion would have revelled in this."

"I am sorry, my lord" Darnin said as he placed the tray on the desk. "There will always be someone here for you. There will always be someone here to help you."

"No there will not" Rydel opposed. "I learned that when I watched my mother and my brother get thrown off the side of a cliff. I learned that when I saw my brother get stabbed through the chest. I learned that when I had to sit there and watch him die. You never know what is going to happen. My father is gone too. Who knows if he'll ever be coming back?"

"That's why I am here" Darnin said with a smile. "Your father will come back and he'll bring your sister with him. I promise."

000

There are so many times when I wish that I had been killed. I wouldn't have had to witness all of these things that happened. I wouldn't have to live with the fact that I turned my back on my family. I would be in Mandos away from this pain. However, I know that even Mandos wouldn't help me escape every torment.

000

Elrond stared into the eyes of his captor. He could feel the blood dripping down the sides of his face. He could feel his heart breaking. "It is not too late to turn back. It is not too late to make this right. You do not have to do this Thianna."

The princess raised as eyebrow at her companion before she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him within an inch of her. "You are a fool, Elrond. That has always been your biggest problem. You cannot accept that someone in this world does not want to be in the side of good and loyalty. Face it, this is how it is going to be."

"Your father loves you" the lord of Imladris proclaimed. "He only wants what is best for you. You can change this. Tell me where my sons are and I will help you go to Thranduil."

Thianna smiled and crossed her arms in front of her. "Do you think I need your help? Do you see all of these people?" she questioned motioning the guards that surrounded them. "They all work for me. They do my bidding. I do not need a worthless piece of dirt like you on my side."

"Where are my sons?" Elrond asked. He had lost patience by this time.

I can't seem to recall" Thianna said as she cocked her head to the side. "I don't remember if I've already killed them. That is the ultimate plan, so it may have already been done."

"If you've hurt any of them..."

"What are you going to do?" Thianna interrupted. "Are you going to take back your offer to help me? That would be such a loss, a loss that I couldn't live with."

"What happened to you?' Elrond inquired.

I've asked that question many times myself. Unfortunately, I didn't get a better answer than the one that she gave to my foster father.

"I had a revelation" the daughter of Thranduil explained. "I realized that I could get much more out of life doing this than I could out of being the perfect daughter; the perfect princess. That life was nothing but lies. This is a life meant for a person of my superiority."

"The life you are living now is nothing but lies" Elrond retorted. "None of these people care about you. They are only in it for what you can offer them. They do not care who leads them as long as they get something. You could die and it would not mean a thing to them."

"I am afraid that your tactics will not work on me" Thianna said. "I am not a child."

"You are not going to get away with this."

"I already have."

Sorry it took me so long to update. Hopefully I'll be able to do this on a regular basis. Reveiw pretty please :)