Chapter Three- The Fourth Prince

I stared the red haired lady, still processing this new information. Bodyguard to the Fourth Prince? How bad could things get? This was a real mess now.

"Miss Dalarë," I began, "I-"

Dalarë smiled understandingly, and somehow completely misunderstanding everything. "It will take a few days to get used to. There are a number of rules you should memorize, but the other private servants and bodyguards can offer you advice if ever you need it. Or you may come to me anytime." She clapped my shoulder. "You will do well."

"But-" I persisted despairingly, taking a step forward.

"No buts. Follow me. I will take you to get some decent clothes and I will teach you a few rules afterwards since you cannot read." Dalarë turned and left the building at a brisk, business-like walk, and I reluctantly trailed after her, quickly beginning to wish that I had never thought of leaving my brother and Tairon. I slowly followed Dalarë across the busy courtyard to a side entrance of the palace- heavy double wooden doors that stood propped open with an assortment of barrels and crates to ease the flow of servants and warriors coming to and from their jobs.

I stayed close to her, keeping a sharp eye on her bright red hair to prevent my idiot self from getting lost and into more trouble than I was in already- if that was even possible. But at the moment, I wasn't doubting anything. The halls grew calmer and less crowded as we went further into the palace. Dalare led me up several flights of steps and finally into a cheerfully painted room where three girls sat sewing around a table, encircled with bales of colorful silks, trays of thread, and mannequins draped with half-finished robes and dresses. An auburn haired girl in a rusty colored dress and apron working over a cloud of jade-green silk, looked up and smiled at our entrance.

"Dal! You finally come to see me!" She laid down her needle and the green silk and rose to give her older sister, as I found out, a quick hug.

Dalarë straightened her now slightly messy hair. "Thea. This is Ari- he will be serving as the Fourth Prince's new bodyguard." Thea smiled and nodded her head in welcome. She looked pleasant enough in my opinion, but a little flighty. Dalarë turned to me. "This is my younger sister Dathæa. She is the Assistant Head Seamstress, as you can see. We will give you something to wear for right now, and later Thea will send up some nice daily uniforms, and another uniform for special occasions."

I nodded, relieved that no one had noticed- or thought to ask- whether or not I was a boy. "Thank you." Apparently I have to wear certain clothes when working for the prince?

Thea moved gracefully across the sewing room to the opposite wall lined with wooden cupboards and opened one of the lower ones. She rummaged through the folded clothes, searching for something suitable. I watched her sorting through various purples, yellows, pinks and oranges and prayed with all my heart she wouldn't select one of those blindingly atrocious monstrosities. Finally she turned and held up an olive gray-green cotton tunic. "How is this, Ari?"

I nodded, immensely relieved, and trying not to be too picky although the color itself was still a little strange in my opinion. "It's very nice. Thank you, Miss Dathæa."

She beamed and handed me the tunic. One of the girls at the table, a brown-haired beauty who was carefully embroidering what looked to be a Lady's belt, looked up at our exchange. "No wonder Dalarë chose you to be the Fourth Prince's servant."

I didn't know what to say to that. The words themself sounded like a compliment, but the way she said it- the tone of her voice- made me think otherwise.

"I am Mëlodiel, the Head Seamstress. I work only for Crown Princess Nenluin and Princess Royale Mârkælyn and Grand Princess Sephonë Neirisis," she said airily, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and then gestured at her equally as lovely companion, who furtively ignored me. "This is Serafia, my assistant. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to talk to Dathæa. I serve only the Royal Family."

I nodded slowly, frowning warily at Melodiel. What is her problem? I wondered. Why in Arda did she tell me that? It doesn't sound like she has a great liking for Thea, though.

I chose to ignore the Head Seamstress, and fingered my new tunic, relishing the soft feeling of the cotton. "Where should I change?" I asked, glancing between Dalarë and Dathæa.

Thea flushed and twiddled her thumbs. "Right, I forgot." She pointed across the room to a door beside the floor-to-ceiling shelving. "You can change in there, Ari. There's also some hair items, belts, shoes, cloaks and things in there. Take your pick."

As I went to the other room, I heard Dalare arranging with her sister for a uniform for me. I smiled, feeling surprisingly pleased with this turn of events.

I changed quickly into the soft green tunic, glady leaving behind my dirty brown one. Despite the ugly color, the cloth was soft and new, and it smelled strangely good, like a blend of autumn leaves and salted caramel. I grabbed some metal bands from a basket on a chair to do my hair with later on, a wide black belt with metal ornament, thinking that I could use these to look tougher and meaner in the eyes of the prince. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pair of black combat boots sitting near the door, that seemed to me would be perfect for martial arts. To my delight, they fit, and I took them. They were my first real shoes that hadn't been homemade, and I was beginning to think that being the bodyguard of the Fourth Prince maybe wouldn't be so bad.

I put the few things I'd chosen into my saddlebags, laced up the boots on my feet and rejoined the four women in the sewing room. I felt taller wearing the black combat boots, and much, much tougher.

Thea beamed when I entered, and grabbed my right arm with both hands. "Ari, you look nice!"

I let out a harsh laugh, "uh, thanks?" all while awkwardly trying to remove my arm from Thea's vise-like grip. The harder I pulled, the tighter she held on.

"You need to stay- uh- a while, Ari!" She said, giving me a sweet smile revealing her teeth clenched together as she struggled to hold onto me.

I smiled back, my eyes shooting daggers at her head. "It's ok, Miss Dathæa. I- ah, haha, I need to go with Miss Dalare to meet the prince." I gritted my teeth as her hands tightened even more around my arm when I tried to pull back. I couldn't believe how strong she was! She was supposed to be a seamstress, not a damned strong bull-fighter! It wasn't often I compared myself to a bull of all animals, but in situations like those, I somehow always ended up insulting myself. I decided not to let it bother me for the time being, and to focus instead on my bigger problem- Thea.

I knew that I could get myself free from her if I used one of my martial arts moves on her, but thankfully, I remembered in time that I was supposed to be a man, and no man would ever perform that particular move on a girl- especially when she's the younger sister of the tall and intimidating Palace Staff Manager. At least, not a man who wished to keep any position in the palace that didn't include scrubbing toilets or cleaning age-old prison cells.

Finally Dalare stepped in with her serious Manager's Voice. "Thea. Unhand the prince's bodyguard. I have business waiting to be finished. Make sure the uniforms are delivered to Ari later."

Thea nodded and slowly released my arm. "Yes, Dalare." She sounded disappointed, but I was ecstatic. She was like an octopus that had found its prey and was determined not to lose it. But I was very happy not to be her prey on that particular day- or really any day. From that moment on, I resolved to stay as far away from Dathæa as I possibly could, Dalare's sister or not.

I hurried from the sewing room the moment Dalarë left, glad to be away from Thea's over-friendliness and Melodiel's coldness, and Dalarë began to chuckle after we had gotten out of earshot of the sewing room. "Thea likes you."

I sighed. "I noticed."

"It's not that bad! My sister may be a little forward, but she is a good girl with no prior attachments. Perhaps she would make you a good wife."

Somehow, I seriously doubted it. But how to convince Dalarë? "She's a nice girl…"

"But…"

An excuse… an excuse… please, Valar, an excuse… "But I'm going to be busy with my job and I really don't need any girls running after me. I don't have anything against Thea personally, it's just, well, I don't have time." I prayed to the Valar that it sounded reasonable. There was a good thing about this conversation though- now I had proof that Dalare thought I was a boy.

Dalarë nodded slowly. "Well then I won't say anymore about it. How about we start reviewing the rules. They are very important for you to remember now that you will be working for Prince Saeros. Firstly, as a bodyguard, you will need to stay within a ten foot range of the Fourth Prince at all times. Anything that appears threatening to the prince, you will stand between and protect the prince with your life. You must obey his every word…"

My attention soon wandered, and I kept a careful eye on the hallways and doors, trying to assemble a map in my head for future reference. It wouldn't do to get lost every time the Fourth Prince sent me to do something, and I should also know where I was going when I began my search for the mysterious unknown identity of her great-grandfather. All I had to recognize him was the jade compass and the silver arrow, and I hoped it was enough.

But it didn't take long for me to completely lose track of where we were and how far we'd come. The palace was a maze, and I was sure there was no way I could ever remember how to get places even after a year. I noticed the corridors suddenly became nicer and well furnished as they entered the actual palace within the caves. Guards were posted at the major hallway crossings and I assumed it was for protection for the king and his family.

I wonder if I will ever see the king? I wondered, giving up completely on trying to find my way and deciding that this occurrence would be something to look forward to. Or maybe the queen? Queens are very beautiful. And I would love to see a princess. There are two princesses, according to what Melodiel said. The king and queen have four sons I think, since there is a Fourth Prince. I really hope the Fourth Prince is very nasty and temperamental. That way he will fire me the moment I make a mistake, and I can soon join the army! But what if he is patient and kind? That would be awful! He would never fire me then… unless I did something really terrible. What can I do to make someone fire me if they are very nice though? I've got to think on this one.

Presently, we came to a towering, elegant archway, with four guards posted outside it. One of the guards nodded at us, and after we had passed through, Dalarë proceeded to explain.

"This is the private part of the palace. Only the members of the Royal Family, a few trusted advisors of the king, and specially appointed servants and maids can enter this section of the palace. Since you are the bodyguard of the Fourth Prince, naturally you must enter the private living space of the Royal Family. But you are not free to roam the private chambers at your pleasure- only on the order of Prince Saeros can you enter any of these rooms without him. Do you understand? This is very important to keep in mind, or you will suffer the consequences."

I nodded gravely, wondering if I would be beheaded if I disobeyed. But I also knew that this was only my trial. If I don't do well in the next coming months, there would be another search for a bodyguard for the Fourth Prince.

There were many doors on either side of the beautifully furnished corridor, and all the floors were made of a beautiful gray and white marble. Two slender pillars served as the doorframe of each doorway, and each open door they passed, I did my best to get a good look at the expensive, elegant furniture and large comfortable welcoming rooms. We passed what looked like a family dining room for informal occasions, a large sitting room, a sizable library stuffed full of books, an indoor room filled with plants and a lovely pool with fish in the middle, an office-like room with such marvelous furnishings that I assumed it must be the king's private study. We passed a short corridor of impeccable beauty with an elegant archway over an alcove. In the alcove was a beautifully carved door, tightly closed, which Dalarë introduced as the Queen's suite. Just opposite it across the main corridor was a matching one- the King's suite.

I had never seen such a beautiful place in all my life that wasn't outdoors. I stared open-mouthed as Dalarë led me onwards to the end of the hallway where another crossed on either side, in T shape. She gestured to the left hallway.

"These are the closed off rooms of the two lost children of the king, as well as the major guest rooms for important visitors. No one may enter here for any reason." Dalare gave me a very serious, warning look, and I nodded my head vigorously, to show her I clearly understood the message. Dalare seemed satisfied. She turned down the long right-hand corridor. "This is where the remaining relatives of the king have their suites."

I bit my lip, extremely curious about what Dalare mentioned about the king's lost children. WIthout another thought as to whether or not it would be a good idea, i asked her. "What happened to the king's other children?"

As I expected, Dalare rebuked me. "You really shouldn't be asking," she murmured, stopping in the hallway and turning to face me.

"But I'm working for the Fourth Prince, remember? Or would you rather I asked him?" I said, determined to get to the bottom of this newfound mystery.

Dalarë looked horrified at the very thought. "Very well. I'll tell you. But you cannot mention this to anyone else, and if something were to ever happen- I didn't tell you. Do you understand?"

"Deal!"

She hesitated for a moment, still looking conflicted. "Alright. The Third Prince and the infant Princess Klêrassia were both taken away and were thought to have been killed when the orcs captured the Queen and carried her off to Gundabad." Dalarë sighed and shook her head. "Ever since the Queen's death, the king closed off those rooms, as well as Queen Adilya's, and no one has been in them ever since." She looked quickly at me. "Whatever you do, never bring up the Queen or the Third Prince."

"I understand," I agreed, knowing that would be a touchy subject.

Dalarë gestured around us at the doors in the corridor. "Now these rooms are the chambers of the remaining members of the Royal Family, besides the king. Do you know their names?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. Am I supposed to?"

Dalarë rolled her eyes as if that was an obvious question. "Why don't you come with me? I'll take you to the ancestral hall with the family portraits. You can memorize their faces and names before I take you to your room."

We retreated back down to the main corridor to a room just beyond the Queen's suite. On the far opposite wall from the door was a table that went up in steps, where the ancestral name tablets were kept, with that of King Oropher in the center. Another small altar in a darkened corner held the tablet of the Enchantress Neirisis, of whom I'd heard a good deal of stories. The dark hall-like room was lit only by the candelabras on the main altar by the name tablets of the late Queen. On the right and left walls, paintings of the Royal Family ranging from large to small were lined from one end of the room to the other, and I could have spent hours gazing at the beautiful artwork, but Dalarë was in a hurry. She led me to the left side of the hall, and pointed out a painting of the king and queen just after their wedding. She skipped over a few paintings, and stopped at the image of a beautiful dark-haired elleth with large starry eyes. "This is Princess Luthien, the current Grand Princess. Mirror image of her mother. Lovely, is she not?"

"She's breathtaking," I whispered.

Dalarë smiled. "You won't see her often. She lives in Mithlond with her husband and children, and hardly ever visits. But when she does, you'll know. There were so many guys like you running after her before her marriage. She has a lively personality, but she can be scary once she is mad. She was never afraid of disciplining her brothers."

I could believe that. Princess Luthien had a strong but elegant air to her.

Dalarë moved to the next painting.

"This is the Crown Prince, Adrahil, his wife Nenluin, and their daughter, the Princess Royale- Mârkælyn. You won't see the Crown Prince around too much, either. He's generally out on the border fighting, and when he is home, he never has time for anything but his wife, daughter, the army and home defense guard. He and Prince Aranwe always have to be kept apart or we'd have wars until the end of Arda." I nodded, scanning Adrahil's wild brown hair and business-like demeanor. He didn't look like someone to tolerate fooling around or silly mistakes.

"And this is the Second Prince, Daeron," Dalarë said. "You can count on him and the Fourth Prince causing trouble when they are together. He's pretty popular with the warriors and he has a lot of friends." I smiled, noticing his dirty blonde hair and mischievous blue-green eyes. He seemed to be quite an outgoing person. "Prince Daeron hasn't reached his majority yet, so he can't lead any large group of warriors, but he and Saeros take turns leading the daily patrols."

"And this is your new master- the Fourth Prince, Saeros. He and Prince Daeron are the cause of most of the silly little problems and accidents in the palace. He's eighteen or so, I believe. He's a really nice kid, a little shy at first, but if there is one thing he has, it's a great sense of humor." I stared at the painting, memorizing Saeros' golden hair, dancing blue eyes and teasing expression. His entire demeanor was cheerful and full of life, and I decided that Prince Saeros wasn't going to be a mean and nasty person as I had hoped.

"This is the Fifth Prince, Aranwë. He is sixteen, hot-tempered, stubborn, arrogant, rebellious and if he's not around, the best guess would be the king grounded him again. He likes to think he knows more than King Thranduil, and he doesn't like being on the receiving end of anyone's orders. He's never been strong since his mother's death. He is always wanting to learn patrol from Daeron and Saeros but Valar knows the king won't let him." The elf had deep blue-gray eyes that showed up dark against his pale skin and white-blonde hair. He did look impossible to control, yet somehow weak. I suddenly realized why he and Adrahil did not get along- both evidently liked to be in charge, and neither, apparently, was one to give in.

"And last but not least, we have the Sixth Prince, Legolas. He has his days when he causes trouble like Daeron and Saeros, but he's generally well behaved when the king is anywhere around. He is more spoiled than the others, but he's also better behaved than most of them on a daily basis. He enjoys learning patrol from his brothers. I should warn you though, he is just fifteen, but nominated the finest young archer in the kingdom."

I chuckled. "I'm sure he's no match for me."

Dalarë laughed back. "You sound pretty confident, but he's tough to match and very competitive. If you challenge him, you'll have a very difficult time scoring anything that could even begin to compare to him. Last painting."

She led me to the opposite side of the hall near the corner where the altar of the Enchantress Neirisis sat, and pointed at a large, life-sized painting of a Lady. She wore a dress of shimmering transparent white with gold hems and glittering jewelry. Her skin was a lovely coppery golden honey color, and her light brown-blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun with the rest curling down over her right shoulder. "This is the Grand Princess Sephonë. She is the granddaughter of Queen Eltathariel- Thranduil's mother, and the great-granddaughter of the Enchantress Neirisis. Grand Princess Sephonë is treated with great respect throughout all elven kingdoms. Her word is as good as the king's, and she is a major member of the Council and the King's Council. She is also the primary tutor of the future Queen of Mirkwood, the only child of the Crown Prince- Princess Mârkælyn Eluthien."

I stared in awe at the portrait of Sephone. She was beautiful in a way I'd never seen before, and that was only enhanced by her gorgeous coppery golden skin, striking blue eyes and blonde hair.

Dalarë interrupted my thoughts. "Now that you know the Royals of Mirkwood, let's go to your room."

"Wait." I grabbed Dalarë's arm, not caring that she was an important figure in the palace as the Staff and Employment Manager. "Can I see a painting of the Third Prince and the Second Princess?"

Dalarë looked conflicted. "That's not…"

"Please?"

"No, Ari. It's enough that I've told you about them to begin with. I'm not going to threaten my career for your unquenchable curiosity. Now, follow me."

Dalarë led the way back to the T-shaped corridors where the rooms were laid out on either side, and led me down the right hall, past them all until we came to the last door before the wide terraced balcony that ended the corridor. She opened the door, and I gingerly followed Dalarë into the Fourth Prince's suite.

It was a grand, luxurious room of opulent furnishing and decor, with a striking color scheme of greens and gold accented by the vast forest and distant mountains stretching far away outside. The green and gold color palette was highlighted by a large, four-poster frame bed, and beautifully woven Avarin carpets from the far north. The room was flooded with pure natural light from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall on the left, with glass double-doors leading to the wide terrace I had seen from outside in the corridor. A beautiful desk of polished wood stood near that wall, where the brightest light could reach it. The remaining walls were an ornate design of built-in shelves, beautiful paintings and meticulously carved moldings, all finished off with plates of gold leaf. Candles in sparkling green crystal leaf-shaped light fixtures added light to the shelves, which were stacked with dozens of books, figurines, and many other random things a person might expect to see in the room of a very un-princelike prince, such as the small raised pond of floating yellow lilies which served as home to a half dozen dazzling koi fish that sat in the center of the room.

Not to forget the fireplace.

It was a beautiful piece of soft gray stone that sat along the right wall opposite the terrace where the cozy flames reflected off the glass. On either side of it were two armchairs and a footstool, situated nicely on a wolf-skin fur rug, where one could spend the evening reading, sipping a hot drink, or laughing with friends.

Despite everything, it wasn't the beauty of the place that first caught my attention.

It was the casually messy state the room was in that made me smile nostalgically, reminiscing on the similar state of my own loft bedroom back home.

There were books, clothes, crumpled paper and various trinkets strewn across the room in a disorderly fashion, and the desk laden with junk. What caught my surprise was that someone had lazily attempted to make the bed, and while it wasn't perfect, it was still the cleanest part of the room.

Apparently, the Fourth Prince isn't the neatest person in the world, I thought to myself, wondering if that was a good or a bad thing.

Dalare seemed to have the same thought. She ran her fingers over the mantle of the fireplace, and frowned in disgust at the layer of dust on her fingers. I suddenly felt sorry for the cleaning maid. Dalare did not look at all impressed. "Prince Saeros is currently leading the patrol- remember I mentioned that he and Prince Daeron take turns, and today was his day. He should be back an hour after dusk, which gives you plenty of time to settle in and straighten up his room. Since his last servant left, there hasn't been anyone available to clean up after him." She led me over to a door in the shadows near the fireplace and led me inside. It was a small room, just large enough to hold a pallet laying longways along the wall. On either side of the door leading to the prince's chamber, lay a pallet. "This is the antechamber, as well as where you'll sleep. As the Fourth Prince's bodyguard, it's necessary to have you within hearing range during the night. The door across is to the hallway."

"Do I have to sleep here?" I asked, shooting dirty looks at the two pallets on the floor. If I must be stuck with working in the palace, it would make things a lot easier to live with if i don't have to sleep here. Perhaps Estar would let me stay in his grandpa's stables?

Just as I was getting my hopes up, Dalarë shook her head. "No. Like I just said, it's mandatory for a royal bodyguard to sleep within hearing range at all times. And that includes nighttime."

I sighed in compliance, and glanced around the room once again. It was quite small compared to the large rooms I had seen so far within the palace, but it was bigger than my loft bedroom at home. I laid my saddlebags down on the pallet on the left side, wondering who had the other pallet.

Back in the prince's chamber, Dalarë handed me a small map of the palace. "Here is something you may need. So you don't get lost."

"Do I look like someone who would get lost?" I retorted.

Dalare smiled. "And Thea should be sending your uniforms up soon. Any questions, you can ask anyone or you may come find me." She turned to leave and hesitated in the doorway. "Ari, good luck. Remember what I've told you." And the door closed.

I stood there for a second, wondering what exactly it was she wanted me to remember as she'd just told me many things. I tucked the map into my belt and sighed deeply. Looking around the prince's room, it wasn't hard to figure out what Dalare meant by 'good luck'.

"Good luck," I repeated to myself, scowling at the dirty socks draped over the poker by the fireplace. "I'll need it."

And I began with the floor.

OoOoOo

It had been a few days, but Lindon was having no luck at all in tracing his mother's identity within the palace. Initially, when he had taken her jade pendant to an expert down in the city, and been informed that the pendant was one of a pair of two matching pendants that had been requested in an order from the palace 32 years ago, he'd thought that his mother may have been a handmaiden to the queen, but there was no one who could (or would) tell him the names, ages or whereabouts of the queen's handmaidens who were still living.

Lindon was stuck.

He had thought previously of even approaching his young lord, Prince Saeros, but reason and wisdom held him back. For if the servants would say nothing, how could he expect one of the princes to do so? Clearly, they had been ordered a long time ago by the king to keep quiet on this matter for whatever reason, and Lindon felt it would be best to keep himself out of the spotlight for now if possible. He really didn't need to get into any arguments with King Thranduil.

He had just completed today's cleaning of Prince Saeros' study (upon Miss Lovaniel's orders) and he now quietly made his way through the corridors to his young lord's chamber. Two days ago, just after he had been 'promoted', Miss Lovaniel had instructed that he reorganize it as soon as he was finished with the study. It was drawing near to dusk, but in Lindon's opinion, if he could get a good headstart for tomorrow, then it was definitely worth it. The Fourth Prince wouldn't be around for a while yet anyways, so he wouldn't have to worry about tip-toeing around anyone.

He turned the last corner and approached the prince's chamber, not entirely looking forward to the mess he knew would be waiting for him. If it was anywhere as chaotic as the study had been, it might take him the rest of the week to finally get it perfectly cleaned up. When he opened the door, however, he found a completely unexpected sight before his eyes. He stopped in the doorway in shock.

OoOoOo

I whirled around, half-expecting to see my infuriated brother Kyalas facing me down, only to come face to face with a young golden-haired elf.

"What are you doing here?" we both asked in unison, staring at each other.

After a few minutes of stubborn silence, I stepped forward. "I am the new bodyguard of the Fourth Prince. And I was *trying* to clean this room up."

"Oh." The elf stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, and set down the cleaning supplies he had been carrying. "I am the new servant of the Fourth Prince. Miss Lovaniel sent me to clean."

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing. I'd never heard of this person before. I wondering if it was a name Miss Dalare had mentioned and I'd just forgotten. But no… I'd never heard of her before. "Who's Miss Lovaniel?"

"You don't know?" the blonde asked, apparently surprised. Upon seeing my irritated expression, he quickly waved his hands placatingly. "I mean, she is the assistant of Miss Dalarë, who is the Palace Staff Manager."

"Oh!" I smiled. "I know Miss Dalarë."

He smiled back. "I thought you would. So maybe I'll just help you finish up here? Perhaps we can get things done tonight."

"Now that's a deal. So where are you from? I haven't seen too many elves with your hair color around."

"I'm from Dol Amroth, actually."

"Really? That's so awesome! I've never even heard of Dolam-am- whatever you said. I'm from Redback Mountain."

"It's Dol Amroth. And I've never heard of Redback Mountain either."

"I guess we're even then?"

"Ok."

"I'm Ari, by the way."

"I'm Lindon."