Yes, I'm back! School has just completely tapped me out, but break is right around the corner, and I'm starting to see the light. I felt horrible for not updating, as I'm the reader that will be eternally pissed off if someone doesn't update. I want to let you know that I will NEVER abandon this story, come what may. I'm had some new revelations about this story, and expect more twists and turns as time goes on!
Thank you so much, and, once, again, I am so sorry for not doing this sooner.
Your reviews are what made this happen:
Chapter 8
Bittersweet MortalityWheric held Ariel's arm in an iron grip as he led the Thief Queen back to her cell. Defeated and battered, her shoulders slumped and her head seemed parallel with the floor. She was trying to withhold the tears that threatened to surface once more. This couldn't be happening.
He mercilessly threw Ariel into her cell, motioning for the extra guards to give him time alone with her. They nodded their heads compliantly and left down the dimly lit hallway.
The Queen of Thieves crouched in a corner, falling back on her basic instincts. She acted like a wounded animal.
Wheric stood silently in the doorway for a moment, face surrounded by shadow, before stepping inside the cell. He smirked at Ariel, clearly taking enjoyment in her torment.
"I don't understand," Ariel rasped, trying to find her voice. "Lana told me herself that you were dead. And now, I find you like this…"
The man quirked his head and hauled the Thief Queen to her feet. She stood, shakily.
"You still haven't figured it out?" Wheric questioned. He gently stroked the side of Ariel's face, ignoring the dried blood that caked most of the area. "Poor, trusting Ariellan."
"I did not deceive you Wheric! How could you condemn me to death! After all that I have shared with you! You, my betrothed!" she sobbed. Ariel was answered with a sharp slap to the face.
"Little whore, you are no betrothed of mine. I never wanted you. Your father's high rank was the only reason I went ahead with the marriage proposal. You are far too unattractive to have anyone actually want you. You look like one of my foot soldiers! Didn't you know that?" he said, smiling sardonically.
Ariel couldn't take it anymore.
Tears started streaming down her face, clearing a path through the blood.
"Oh, don't cry," Wheric tsk'd. "It isn't becoming of a lady of the court." He replaced his hand on her cheek. "I must admit, though, there is one thing that I miss about you." He pushed her against the wall and set his free hand on her waist.
With the little strength she had, Ariel tried to struggle with Wheric, but alas to no avail. He merely laughed and pushed his body into her.
"Now that isn't very nice," he commented.
Suddenly, he savagely attacked Ariel's mouth, biting her lips and making them bleed. She whimpered and Wheric pulled away.
"Yes, I do miss your kisses, among other things," he whispered, eyes roaming over her body. The Thief Queen shuddered and felt tainted.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. The guards were coming back. Ariel had never been so comforted by the sound of her enemies.
Wheric quickly brought his cheek to hers, his lips only a small distance from her ear.
"This was the only way for Lana and I to be together, Ariel. It is regretful that you had to get in the way, but sacrifices must be made. You know of her bloodlines. I could not pass this up."
Ariel looked at him sharply. "What are you saying?" she gasped. Wheric's body was pinning her down, cutting off her air supply.
He backed off of her just as the guards came to relieve him. He wiped the blood he had retained from kissing Ariel off of his mouth.
"It's simple, really. I chose Lana over you."
With that, he smoothly walked out of the cell, leaving the Queen of Thieves sitting in the corner, shaking.
It was a welcome reprieve when she fainted from exhaustion.
Ariel was awakened by the swift kick a burly soldier. He battered her once more for good measure and pulled her up into a standing position.
"The Steward has a surprise for you," the guard smiled, yellow teeth revealing rotten gums.
The Queen of Thieves was disoriented. She had no inclination as to how long she had been asleep, and feared that she lacked even the energy to ask the soldier.
Suddenly, Ariel, was thrown through a door. Mahogany eyes clashed with burnt sienna as the Thief Queen met the sunset. She blacked out for a time, her eyes having difficulty adjusting to the scenery and light changes.
When Ariel finally regained her senses, she took note of her surroundings. They were in a courtyard that Ariel had frequented when she was younger. It seemed as if the whole court had crowded into the small area.
"But why?" Ariel wondered as the guard prodded her in the back with a sword, urging her forward. The sea of people parted as they saw the Queen of Thieves move forward. Some spat at her, while others hurled insults.
"I don't understand, my execution is set for sunrise. Even Denethor would not go back on that…" she thought.
Her query was soon answered as a scaffold came into view. A scaffold that held an oddly familiar mountain of a man.
"Rhiney!" Ariel yelled, only to realize that she had lost her voice. What came out was a hoarse whisper.
Her friend stood upon the planks, noose around his neck. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be almost smiling.
Ariel was led to a raised platform in the courtyard that held the higher members of the court, first and foremost-Denethor.
Eyes narrowing, Ariel tried to muster all of her strength and launched herself at the Steward. She was, of course, stopped by the mass of a guard and thrown to the ground, tasting the earth.
Denthor's laughter rang out among the people, silencing all in the vicinity.
"Well, well, well, Ariellan. How nice that you could join us," drawled the Steward. Ariel glared at him from the ground, not even moving.
Addressing the crowd, Denethor took a breath. "Tonight, justice begins her journey of purging this great kingdom of its plight. Long have we feared for our very lives thanks to these vile creatures. It is our duty-nay, our pleasure- to help justice in its pursuits!"
With this, the court cheered as one and focused their attention to the scaffold.
The Thief Queen was raised from the ground, but didn't have the strength to stand. She collapsed onto the earth, her head spinning.
"Well, that will not do. Guards, hold her up. I would not want her missing this," the Steward sneered.
Ariel was hauled up again, but this time the guards did not let go of her, supporting her weight.
Closing her eyes to fend off the dizziness that threatened to overtake her, Ariel realized that she could not cry anymore, her eyes feeling as dry and chapped as her lips.
When the dizziness ended, the Queen of Thieves opened her eyes to the sight of her dear friend being moved to stand above a trap door.
Almost as if sensing her anguish, Rhiney found Ariel's eyes. He flashed her a look of sympathy.
Ariel tried to turn her head away, struggling with her captors. They simply held her tighter, one grabbing her head and holding her eyes open.
Giving a silent command to the executioner, Denethor smiled as a lever was pulled.
"RHINEY!" screamed Ariel, feeling like her soul had been ripped in two.
She screamed until her voice grew hoarse and ragged.
Haldir was pacing. Yes, the Marchwarden of Lothlorien was pacing like a nervous human.
And oh, how it sickened him.
"That little witch has done something to me," he whispered angrily. It had required all of his being to not take the Thief Queen into his arms and protect her at the trial. This was madness.
But, that wasn't why he was pacing.
Moments ago, his keen ears had picked up on the sounds of a terrible scream. It stood out from all the cries of joy, and Haldir immediately knew who it was.
"Taliwen," his mind whispered.
"No, no, it is Ariel now," he remarked aloud.
Oh Varda, he was now speaking to himself! This human had somehow invaded the recesses of his mind. He needed to put an end to this interference.
Tomorrow would most definitely take care of that particular situation.
But, would that really satisfy him, seeing her die?
It 'twas no matter, she was only a human. They meet their maker everyday. It is no concern of his. Besides, Ariel deserved her punishment. After Haldir had heard of her treachery, he also believed that death was the only appropriate punishment when dealing with humans.
After all, it was only a human life that would be snuffed out. It's not as if it mattered.
Haldir was disgusted when he saw the Queen of Thieves so broken at her trial. She already looked as if she had passed into the afterlife.
It would be a pity having to go to her hanging, but proper political decorum called for it. He would watch on, having no trace of emotion on his face, the proper model for all elven kind.
"I have seen many a human die, and this will surely not be the last time. She means nothing," he tried to reassure himself.
But, when their eyes had met at the end of her trial sentence, something grabbed Haldir by the gut and pulled. In one glance he had found a million emotions, each one striving for release.
Desperation, loneliness, denial, pain- each feeling surfaced in that one instance. It stirred something in the Marchwarden.
What kind of spell had Ariel cast on him?
Sitting, Haldir glanced out the window to meet the sunrise, sighing for the first time in 200 years.
All feeling had left Ariel. She sliced her thumb using her fingernail, drawing blood, and still could feel no pain.
Coldness surrounded her like a welcome friend, and she didn't mind that her eyes had crusted shut from her un-wiped tears.
She leaned against her cell wall, already intimately acquainted with its familiar stone blocks.
Her legs had given out completely. She was as weak as a doll.
She thought of her Thieves, and sent out silent prayers and hopes that they had made it to Rohan. Surely Haldir would keep his promise.
Strangely, Ariel was not afraid of what the morning would bring. She was too tired to care. And, while she physically could feel nothing, her mind was reeling with mental anguish.
The cold stare that Haldir had given her before she left her trial had shaken her to the core, and a hollow pit had formed in the bowels of her stomach. For some reason, she found herself still drawn to the elf.
"It is only because of his beautiful face," she whispered unconvincingly to herself. Something deeper lie between the Queen of Thieves and the Marchwarden.
But what?
"I shall never get the chance to find out," Ariel thought to herself. This statement alone had the power to render The Thief Queen unconscious, too tired to dwell on chances missed.
She awoke to the smell of grass and trees. It took a long while to coordinate herself to the new surroundings.
The sky was dark, but had the pre-dawn light in its wake. The earth was wet beneath Ariel's fingers, and suddenly it registered.
"I am going to die today," she stated.
A laugh next to her caused the Thief Queen to look to her right, eyes locking with those of Denethor.
"Any minute now, my lady, dawn will come. And you will never again be a thorn in my side," the Steward mocked.
"Oh I imagine many more thorns shall surpass mine in your side, my Lord, you need not worry," Ariel intoned.
A swift kick to the ribs was her answer.
"Insolent girl, it is of no matter to me what you say anymore," he glared. Motioning to his guards, he went to take his seat on the high platform.
Following unspoken orders, the guards dragged The Queen of Thieves through the crowd of onlookers. It seemed as if the whole city had showed up.
Ariel could look at no one, so ashamed of how broken she had become.
While the soldiers held her up, the executioner fitted a rope around her neck.
It felt scratchy and stiff.
The onlookers sounded like a mass of wild bees, each one gossiping with the next. This was like entertainment to them.
Ariel was too tired to care.
The guards would have to hold her up until the very last minute.
Wearily, Ariel's eyes scanned the crowd until they were drawn to the familiar icy blue of the Marchwarden.
"If I am to die, at least it will be while gazing at something beautiful," she resignedly thought.
Ominously, Denethor rose from his seat.
"Citizens of Minas Tirith, today shall be a day for reckoning and justice! Long have our merchants been prayed upon in the forests. Long has out great city suffered under the terror of this band of Thieves!" he waited for the cheers to stop before continuing. "No more! Know that I, your dutiful Steward, has protected your city! It was I who enlisted the help of the elves and I who has caught this supposed Queen of Thieves! Today shall be a day of joy! Celebrate the new freedom of our fair city!"
He sat down to tumultuous applause. Making eye contact with the black-robed executioner, Denethor raised his hand and created a cutting motion across his neck with it.
The time for Ariel's death had come.
Haldir was torn.
Denethor's speech had sickened him to the extreme. 'A day of joy' indeed.
When his and Ariel's eyes had met again, something sparked in his body.
He didn't care if it was witchcraft.
He didn't care that she was human.
As Denethor motioned his hand across his throat, Haldir could only cry out:
"Daro!"
…But someone had already beaten him to it.
-------------------------------------End of Chapter
I'm hoping to update in the next couple days, but if not, definitely by the end of next week, as we have Thanksgiving break, and I will have plenty of time.
Please review! These gave me the motivation to start writing again.
-Blade