Author's Note: Yes, I am indeed still alive, and my muse has never forsaken this story! At least…not entirely. I apologize that it took my so long to wrap up this, my beloved Conspiracies, but now that the final words are penned, I can say I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I hope you enjoy the last installment to this tale! Please don't forget to leave me some feedback!

…

Everything was going just as rehearsed. Shaking off some of the snow which had fallen onto his travel-stained cloak, Aragorn cupped his hands around his eyes and looked into the house of his focus through a small window, able to see the living room fairly clearly despite the blinds being half closed.

This was the moment he had been waiting for, an event many months—even years—in the making. The ranger felt his heart race as two mortals entered the living room, the young man allowing the maiden to take her seat first before snuggling up beside her. Both had mugs of warm coffee in their hands, and even though the girl was greatly weary with a long day of travel, she was slow to sip the drink. Aragorn silently prayed that the Valar would speed her thirst as he noticed the man's slight anxiety.

How can she not want to slurp down the coffee?!

The two spent several minutes in casual conversation, one which Aragorn was sure was quite pleasant but hoped would end soon. He felt for the young man, who swished his drink somewhat nervously. The girl was seemingly oblivious, still enjoying the talk without so much as glance at the mug she held.

Aragorn closed his eyes and huffed, shaking his head. Was she going to blow everything? He looked inside again, and with his great eye for detail, he noticed the girl take a nanosecond to peer into her nearly empty cup. His heart leapt into his throat, and he pressed himself up against the window, willing his trained ears to make out the words being spoken.

"Hey, Edennil," the girl began, her head down resting nonchalantly against the young man's shoulder. "There's something written at the bottom of this mug. But there's still coffee inside, so I can't see it." Aragorn could detect a sweet and tender warmth in her voice. She had no doubt just read what was written there; she was just doing this for the glory of the moment. She looked up at the handsome lad, eyes shining. "Could you tell me what it says?"

Aragorn wanted to shout his approval for the way she handled herself, but the moment was far from over, so he kept his attention focused inside the room. A huge grin spread across the young man's face, and he carefully moved from his place and slid his hand under the couch to pick up a small box. He looked up at the girl, who was beaming herself, and rearranged his position so that he was down on one knee before her.

"It says, 'Marry me.'" His voice was steady but carried emotion and raw joy. He paused only a moment to smile even wider and to open the box, revealing the most beautiful diamond ring ever crafted my mortal men. "Will you marry me, Estel?"

The ranger outside felt the corners of his mouth irresistibly drawn upward as tears formed in the girl's eyes. "I will indeed," she answered, rushing suddenly into his arms.

They both stood and hugged for a very, very long time, and Aragorn felt a great joy in himself for their happiness. He too knew how painful it was to be forced to live over a thousand miles from one's beloved. Edennil and Estel had endured that for over half a year now, but at this moment, the hope to which they always clung was now tangible. Their long-awaited marriage could finally be planned for real. Aragorn knew that the waiting would still be hard—after all, the two love birds were scheduled to part ways again in less than a week. But if the wedding did really happen in May as was hoped, they were already half way there. And now they were officially engaged.

"Do you like it?" Aragorn heard the young man ask, to which the girl nodded vigorously. "Are you sure it's your style?"

Fresh tears sprang from Estel's eyes as she again threw her arms around Edennil. "You're my style," she sobbed, laughing amid it all. "I'm so, so happy."

It could not have been more perfect.

Aragorn gave the couple a nod of approval which he assumed would go unseen, but just before he turned away, he noticed the young man look out at him and give a discreet wave which Estel did not see (since her head was still buried in Edennil's shoulder). He mouthed the words thank you, to which Aragon dipped his head. He may have helped in the planning and the practice, but Edennil had executed the proposal all on his own.

Satisfied with the situation, the ranger turned and began to trudge through the deep Michigan snow, feeling a tiny spring in his step (if he is capable of such a thing) at the thought of how his fellow muses would react to the good news. All their planning and scheming ever since the writer's first months in college had finally paid off, and she was going to be married. More important than that, she was going to have a constant companion to help preserve her sanity. No conspiracies would be able to stop her from writing stories now!

Aragorn reflected on the fact that there actually hadn't been much concentrated effort on the part of Sauron to destroy Estel's sanity in the past year—not since she and Edennil became inseparable companions. Had he simply anticipated the futility and hoped that they would break up? Aragorn wasn't sure, but he was glad all the same that Estel was now secure.

After all, Aragorn knew that married couples never have anything occur to test their sanity, so the wedding would no doubt render Dark Lord basically powerless!

…

Snaga 3 never felt comfortable getting a call to the throne room of Barad-dûr, but his unrest was amplified exponentially when he became aware of the others who were called to report at the same time. He could barely make himself look at Snagas 1, 6.023*10^23, and 299,792,458m/s as all four of them tramped gloomily down the dark halls towards their shared destination. If the Dark Lord was thinking about resuming that ridiculous Conspiracies mission from last year, the orc would have to seriously consider defecting. At least an enemy of Sauron would kill him quickly.

Finally, the thoroughly dejected troop arrived in the throne room and knelt humbly before their master. Sauron acknowledged their entrance with a dark and guttural grunt (a very disturbing sound indeed), his expression communicating the seriousness of his intent.

"And now is revealed the foresight I had in sparing your miserable lives," Sauron growled with poorly concealed irritation, causing the orcs to quake where they stood. "I knew that we would soon be in position to resume the operation."

This confirmation of their worst fears made the orcs all sigh inwardly, but they kept up outwardly stoic appearances because they knew their own peril. Still, they wondered what had caused this mission—one they all hated with an exceedingly greatly passion—to be taken off of its indefinite suspension. After all, their attacks had been ineffective ever since Estel began dating Edennil. If they'd had someone to which they could have prayed, the orcs would have been praying that this unfortunate reality would at least have meant the ceasing of their operation forever.

"My lord," Snaga 1 began reluctantly, "what makes your powerful foresight so clearly evident at this time? Has something changed in the wretch's situation which will make our attempts profitable again? Has the young man finally come to his senses and left her?"

The Dark Lord let out a rumbling laugh, one that shook the very foundations of the tower. The Snagas feared for their lives. "Even better," he snarled, his semi-corporal hands balling into fists, one of which he slammed onto the arm rest of his throne (something which was actually very painful with the throne being made of sharp stone, but Sauron pretended not to care). "He's going to marry her."

The orcs were at a loss as to how this helped their cause. They had been decommissioned based on the very fact that Estel was no longer in her troubles alone. Now she would be forever bound to another! Fortunately, the Lord of the Rings could see their confusion, and he answered their questions before they could ask.

"Do you not know all the calamities that marriage brings?" he chuckled to himself. "Once the newness of it all wears off, the struggles of life not only reappear, but they can even amplify, given the right circumstances. Many lose their minds even without the aid of darker forces." Sauron scoffed as he considered his target's pending doom. "These two mortals view their union as a sacred and unbreakable covenant ordained by God Himself to reflect His glory in the Gospel. Whoever heard of such an idea? They must already be on the precipice of insanity!

"And supposing this worthless couple sails smoothly through their first few years," Sauron continued. "There is one kind of creature which will most certainly drive them both to the end of their sanity, a species that they will foolishly embrace of their own free will." Sauron's look of sick glee was almost enough to knock the orcs off their feet, but their curiosity kept them focused wholeheartedly on their master.

"What creatures can cause such fell effects?" inquired Snaga 6.023*10^23 eagerly, his blackened teeth showing in a disgusting sneer.

Sauron again laughed to himself, though this was a deeper, more personal chuckle. "Children," he said simply, grinning wickedly as the orcs looked at each other in confusion. "And they will come in time," he added darkly. "Many will, I should think, and thus there will be many weaknesses of sanity which we can exploit. Prepare yourselves, therefore; we will lay in wait until the situation has shifted back into our favor, and then we will strike. And this time there will be no hiatus until that Thalion Estel—" Sauron spat out the name like it was maggoty bread "—is admitted into an institution."

The final sentence sounded more like a threat against failure than a statement of success, and the orcs all nodded vigorously. "The conspiracies against this pathetic Estel are not over by any means," the Dark Lord concluded confidently, waving to dismiss his minions. "They have only just begun."

…

And there you have it. Conspiracies is now complete. But is it? Is it?! I guess I'll find out soon enough. :) I have no promises for a sequel, but I am purposefully leaving the door open; I have had tremendous fun writing this.

But on a more personal note, I want to again thank everyone for following along with my crazy life as so many things have happened, some being conspiracies and some being the inability to update. Sometimes those two things have strangely coincided. ;)

I have no intention of forever abandoning my status as a fanfiction writer, married or single. I will probably remain too busy to write as I continue to work 60+ hours and week and plan my wedding *screams with excitement*, but my hope is that after I move to Michigan *screams with an unidentified emotion*, I will find a job that gives me solid hours without over-burdening me. I mean, who wants to work all that overtime if they have a super handsome husband?! :) I already have some ideas in my mind for stories, so hopefully I'll get those out in the coming year.

Thanks so much for reading!