THE FORGOTTEN

Loss Agarwaen

Bloodstained Snow

Author's note: The chapter in which – The saboteur makes everyone furious and Thranduil gets a step closer to figuring out who it is. …Elvish and ósanwe in italics… and if you are re/reading in real time, this chapter takes place December 8th.

The day after Naur Thand Loss was Lothril's usual riding day and so she and Legolas dressed to ride and headed down to the stables. By now there were pathways being shoveled off to accommodate things like wheelbarrows and small carts, but nothing was taken down to paved path or grass as many things could be and were being hauled around on sleds. The couple reached the barn to find Brenion frowning and barking orders.

"What is wrong, Brenion?" Legolas asked.

"The arena, my lord. Somehow there is a hole in the roof and snow has been falling in. As we finally have clear weather, we are working on fixing it, but the poor horses have not had any exercise for three days now and they are growing restless and all my help is up on the roof," Brenion said.

"Did it cave in from the weight of the snow?" Legolas asked.

"A large limb, I think. I knew the roof was getting older and we would need to replace it sooner than later, but I truly thought it would have at least another six or seven years," Brenion said. "I suppose though that either proves I am no carpenter or that the limb was simply that enormous."

"Was it that large?" Legolas asked.

"It certainly seemed so when I looked at it from the ground. It is still on the roof though and that is what my stable hands are doing on the roof – removing that large limb," Brenion answered.

"Brenion, if the horses cannot use the arena, can we take them out into the paddock? I am sure Legolas and I could give each of them at least a turn or two around the paddock so they get at least a little something in," Lothril asked.

"That would be very helpful!" Brenion said with a half-smile. "You can ride if you wish, but otherwise you may simply turn them out and encourage them to go. Hopefully by tomorrow the limb will be down and we will be able to exercise them properly. All of them have blankets on, so leave them on. And thank you."

They decided to start with the two horses closest to the outside door which happened to be one of Legolas' and one of the roans. They led them out into the paddock and Legolas leapt up on his while Lothril simply led the roan from the barn to the paddock. Legolas kept his at a walk beside Lothril as they were chatting and when they hit the gate, she opened it and let the horse in and off he went, sending up snow, whinnying and bucking here and there with glee as he was happy to be out and about in the snow.

They watched with smiles for a minute and Legolas was about to resume talking when the roan started trotting back and forth with his head up and his nose flared a bit on the close side of a tree that grew about fifteen feet from the paddock's fence.

"Is it just me, or is he bothered by something?" Lothril asked.

"No, he is decidedly bothered by something. Let us go and investigate and I will help you calm him down. If he seems too upset, we will call Brenion. This is one of his favorite roans after all," Legolas replied.

"What is his name again?" Lothril asked.

"Silverlight," Legolas answered.

Lothril headed in with Legolas who rode on her left between her and the rest of the paddock. She reached Silverlight first and immediately began talking to him trying to calm him down a little and maybe draw him back towards the barn. Legolas hung back a little and watched and when it was clear the roan wasn't about to calm down for her, he prepared to dismount when suddenly his horse neighed and swung around of his own accord to head back towards the barn, but as he did, something beneath of one his back hooves whipped up, sending up a spray of snow. Legolas' eyes quickly followed the movement and he leapt off the horse and towards Lothril, knocking her down as a shower of snow fell with a creak and snap of limbs and branches and the unmistakable sound of heavy logs bumping and thudding against each other and the ground. As soon as Legolas and Lothril hit the ground he rolled with her until they were on the other side of the tree, the horses neighing and screaming in fear as Legolas' horse bolted away from the falling sharp logs and branches but the roan getting hit and wounded by them as he couldn't whip around and run fast enough. "Are you hurt?" Legolas demanded as his eyes roamed over Lothril.

"I am fine. Are you?"

"I am fine," Legolas answered, quickly standing up and heading over to the roan lying in the snow which was now blood splattered.

Brenion, heard the commotion and one of his horses screaming and then in came Legolas' horse, circling around him like he was trying to herd him out the door. Brenion came flying out of the stable to see one of his beloved roans surrounded by a mass of fallen logs and branches and blood splattered snow with Legolas and Lothril both kneeling beside him, looking him over.

"What has happened!?" Brenion demanded, running up and sliding to his knees in the snow beside his horse.

"There was a trap. It looks like he has gotten several nasty gashes and Lothril is trying to discern if there are other injuries," Legolas answered.

Brenion immediately started examining the horse himself along with Lothril who was singing and gently resting her hand on his neck and over his side because she really wasn't sure where a horse heart was except vaguely under the ribcage.

"I think he has broken or at least a dislocated rib or two," Lothril said at length, "and his right foreleg will need looked at. I am sorry I can say no more. I know little of horse anatomy."

Brenion's eyes were fixed on his horse as he said, "Go tell the stable hands to come and bring the aid kit for the horses and the large sled and a stretcher. I need to get him back in the stables."

Lothril bolted off to the stable before Legolas could even stand.

"My horse! My horse! My Silverlight! How?! WHY?!" Brenion demanded angrily, blinking back tears.

"I am afraid this was meant for Lothril," Legolas answered. "I am sorry that Silverlight bore the brunt of it."

"For Lothril?!" Brenion asked, snapping his head to look at the prince, nothing but anger, fury, and confusion in his eyes.

"Someone has been attacking her for weeks now and getting progressively more dangerous. We suspect it is a jealous elleth," Legolas answered.

"And this jealous elleth thought it would do to risk MY HORSES in order to get back at you and Lothril?! I want her found, Prince! I want her found and I want her horse whipped within an inch of her life! And if my horse dies, so help me-"

"This was a deadly attempt on the life of a member of the royal family. She will be tried for attempted murder and if found guilty executed," Legolas said grimly.

"I happily volunteer to save the crown time," Brenion said through gritted teeth.

"Get in line," Legolas half muttered to himself.

"Where are those stable hands?!" Brenion demanded, looking back at the stables. Through the open barn door he could see them rushing about gathering things and then they began running out bringing the asked for supplies with them, a large sled following after being pulled by another horse.

Lothril returned with the stable hands and Legolas immediately stood and said, "We need to get back inside and tell Adar and send word to the healers."

"Indeed, send out Taraves!" Brenion said, sounding distressed. "She knows horses best of the healers."

They headed back towards the stable, Legolas found his horse had returned of his own accord and after checking him quickly to make sure he didn't have any lacerations, they hurried back inside, pausing only just inside to send someone to tell Taraves a horse needed her urgently. Legolas reflexively reached for Lothril's hand and then remembered they were blood streaked and so gently took her by the arm, pulling her straight to a side passage and down a short maze of passages until they all but burst in through a door to find what looked to Lothril like an office of sorts. Large desk near the center back of the room, a decent sized table with a number of chairs around it, some book cases full of books, a map of the kingdom on the wall, and behind the desk Thranduil writing away until he heard the door bang open and saw his son and Lothril looking like they had just crawled out of a snow drift and Lothril with blood on her hands and some on her clothing.

"What has happened?" Thranduil demanded.

Legolas quickly conveyed the entire story and Thranduil asked if he had a chance to investigate the scene. Legolas admitted he didn't and that he prioritized seeing to Lothril and then the horse and then getting Lothril inside to safety.

"That is well. Lothril, for the time being I do not want you leaving our wing of the palace. Your attacker is clearly turning violent and potentially lethal. Legolas, I want you stay with her at all times. I am going down to investigate and I will keep you both informed of what I find," Thranduil said, getting up from his desk and heading towards the door.

"I want to go back and investigate also. She will be safe with Estel-" Legolas started but was cut off.

"No! You will stay in our wing with Lothril," Thranduil said definitively, reaching for the doorknob.

"Father, I want to help track down and bring this fiend to justice!" Legolas argued with some heat.

Thranduil turned and looked sharply at his son. "You will stay! That is an order! That could have been you that was hurt today and I am not willing to risk either one of you. We are drawing closer to finding this coward and I do not want either of you to be easily accessible until she is found," Thranduil ordered.

"Father, I must protest-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute," Lothril interjected, drawing the angry and impatient looks for two blond ellyn with flaming blue eyes.

"What is it?!" Thranduil snapped, still unhappy with Legolas arguing his orders.

"Do not yell at her!" Legolas warned, bristling.

"Legolas, it's fine. Now Thranduil, I am happy to go play hermit in general, but I think it is a tactical error on your part to hide us away. At least completely and especially now. We need to go look at that trap, and all together. I did not get much of a chance to examine things, but I do remember the logs and branches being sort of everywhere and being all different shapes and sizes. Now, I have no doubt if Legolas had not gotten me out of the way, I would have at least a broken something, but this trap could have been done to much greater effect. I do not think she really knows how to set an effective trap. At least not yet. Now, in case this elleth is watching, I think we would be better off showing that we are not terribly flustered or intimidated by her attack. In fact, I think we would be better off having me be out and about more." She saw both of them about to protest so she held up a finger and said, "Wait a moment and follow my logic – if I am out more and am an easy target, we may coax her to try again faster than she's strictly ready to act. With all of her attacks, there has been time in between them. They are not consecutive and relentless, they are spaced out. I think she does not know what to do next or how to do it, so it takes her time to both think of something and then research it. However, if we give her an easy target, she may try something more clumsy and obvious. If she does that, we can catch her in the act and then we will know beyond doubt that we have caught the right elf."

"You are NOT making yourself a target!" Legolas snapped.

"Legolas, I already am a target! What's the difference?" she snapped back. "If I am running around though trying to get attacked, I will at least be ready for it and with any luck, have it all be done on my terms and when I am ready for it," she added in a decidedly more calm and persuasive tone.

"This is a dangerous game you want to play," Thranduil warned. "And I do not like it in the slightest."

"Neither do I," Legolas added with a low and distinctly unhappy voice.

"Let me make my position perfectly clear – as long as she was just attacking me, I did not mind taking a few hits and letting things play out a little. But today – if she has been studying me enough to know my routine, then she knows full well she was putting innocents in danger. Often Brenion is standing right where I was during lessons and it is common for you to go riding with me. She had to have known that. She was clearly willing to risk both you, Legolas, and Brenion, to say nothing of the horses. That is too far. I will not sit idly by and let innocent people get hurt when I am the target. I am. She started this sick little game and she has gone too far and I am going to end it."

"And I am about to put you under house arrest," Thranduil threatened.

"Were you letting her attack you?" Legolas asked.

"Of course not! Don't be absurd! I was just willing to be patient while we sorted everything out. Now I want to force her out," she said.

"For the sake of argument, say I let you do as you wish. What is your plan and how do you keep yourself from being killed?" Thranduil asked.

"Ada!"

"Invite our suspects over, of course. Make it an invitation that would be nearly impossible to refuse and see if any of them try something," she replied simply.

"And how do you keep yourself from being killed?" Thranduil asked.

"Ada, you cannot be serious!" Legolas protested.

"For one thing, I shall continue to chainmail under my clothes," she began.

"Continue?" Legolas repeated in surprise.

She lifted up her tunic to reveal a chainmail shirt.

"How did I miss it?" Legolas asked.

"Well I only wear it when I go outside," she answered then looked back at Thranduil and said, "As for anything else, I can have Estelneth escorting me and keeping an eye on things along with that handful of guards you have had posing as servants for me the last few weeks," she answered. "I admit this is not a perfect idea, but for how the last three attacks have gone down, this would put me in a safer position and end this whole affair."

"I will consider it," Thranduil said.

"I strongly oppose it," Legolas said definitively. He looked Lothril in the eyes and said, "When I thought you died in Lothlórien it nearly broke me. When I thought you were going to be attacked by the boar I panicked because I could not bear the thought of possibly losing you like that. Today, just now when I realized what was going on with that trap, I was- I am utterly horrified at the thought of what might have happened. I cannot lose you, meleth nin. I cannot condone any action that would put you in danger of getting hurt or killed."

"Legolas," she said quietly and went to take his hands but then remembered they were covered in horse blood so dropped them back by her side. "I understand. I truly do. But you are forgetting the dangers I have already faced and defeated, many together with you. I have been passive in this affair so far, and I admit a bit afraid, but I am not afraid now. Now I am angry. She has put you in danger. She could have just as easily hurt Brenion as she did his horse, and clearly she now has no problem sacrificing innocent bystanders to get to me. How can I look myself in the mirror knowing I fought at Helm's Deep, Pelannor, and before the very gates of Mordor but ran and hid when some jealous, petty, half crazy elleth decided it was okay to endanger those around me? How can I face an army of orcs but run from a jealous elleth? I am not a fool. I realize the danger, but I refuse to live in fear and hide like a coward when it is clear now those around me are in danger also. Now I fight."

Legolas sighed and shook his head. "I suppose I cannot dissuade you from this any more than I could from you going with the Fellowship."

"Not likely, no," she answered.

"Just be careful," Legolas pleaded quietly.

"Of course! I have done exactly one stupid and reckless thing in my entire life and that was climb out of that window," Lothril said. "Now, shall we go down and look at that trap and see just how badly it was constructed?"

"Hold! Who said anything about "we"?" Thranduil asked with raised brows. "The last orders I gave were for you and Legolas and to go to our wing of the palace and remain there."

"Oh come now," Lothril began to protest before Thranduil cut her off.

"I am going to look as part of my investigation into this matter, but it is unlikely it will reveal anything besides how poorly it was constructed. In the meantime I want you and Legolas thinking through your plan and how to execute it with as little risk to you as possible so I may make a final decision on it."

She was very frustrated and was biting her tongue, but it was still written all over her face so Thranduil came back over to her and gently tilted her chin up so he could give her a quick little kiss. She looked at him wide eyed and nodded and said quietly, "Alright, I understand."

"Thank you. And do remember to wash all that horse blood off yourself," he said and turning to Legolas he added with ósanwe, "I still want you to stay and I do want you to work on a plan with her. And I want you two to discuss this further if you need to and make up properly. It does not do to let these things fester. You and I may settle our disagreements after supper."

"Very well, Father," Legolas answered.

"Thank you."

With that Thranduil turned and left and Legolas turned to Lothril. "I am sorry for being so short with you. And you are right – you have faced greater dangers and I ought to trust you." He paused and Lothril could see there was more he desperately needed to say.

She waited patiently for a while then prompted, "But…?"

"But you have been through so much and my heart breaks at the thought of you having to endure one more thing. Especially knowing I am part of the reason why you are going through this. I want to spare you from danger and pain, not bring it upon you. You have gone through so much in this past year alone and then with your past-"

"Mellothon, let us go back to my room and put a little more of the uncertainty you are dealing with behind us. I know you are thinking about the attacks, but my past and your worry about hurting me yourself has been heavy on your mind since I told you and it is time I show you my memories. One less thing on your mind," Lothril said gently.

Legolas nodded and led her through back passages up to their wing and into her room where Estelneth was overseeing housekeeping.

"Milady! Your hands!" Estelneth exclaimed as soon as she saw her mistress.

"Estelneth, is my bedroom done?" Lothril asked.

"It is done, but the bathroom is still being cleaned, milady," she answered. "But what has happened that you are splattered in blood?"

"There was a trap and it got sprung and this is all from the horse that got hurt," Lothril answered briefly.

"I will help you clean up," Estelneth said, ushering Lothril into the bathroom even as two servants were working on mopping the floors and scrubbing the bathtub respectively. "Mind your tasks," Estelneth said to them.

"Whenever you are finished with whatever you are doing you are dismissed for the day. I do not care if it is left half done today," Lothril said to the servants. "Anyone in the library?" she asked Estelneth as she fetched a dark colored wash cloth and a particularly gritty bar of soap.

"No, Lady Lothril," Estelneth answered.

"Good. Once I am all cleaned up, I am going to dismiss everyone for the day," Lothril said, letting Estelneth begin scrubbing on her hands. It didn't take too long to get her cleaned up, then Estelneth volunteered to take her blood splattered clothes for her and help her out of her chainmail shirt. "Alright, I think that is everything that was blood splattered except for my leggings." Lothril looked over at the servants that were finishing up the floors and the tub.

"They ought to be done very soon," Estelneth said. "Shall we go to your closet?"

"Let's," Lothril replied and so they did. She removed her leggings and handed them to Estelneth who by now had her soiled things in beautiful woven laundry basket.

"Would you like me to attend you?" Estelneth asked.

"No, I think I can manage the rest by myself, but thank you," Lothril replied. "Please see to it any lingering servants hurry out and then tell Legolas to wait in my bedroom on your way out. I sincerely doubt I will be leaving the royal wing again today and even less likely to do so without Legolas, so I imagine you can drop that basket off to get cleaned and call it a day if you want. Thank you, Estelneth."

"My pleasure, milady," Estelneth said and gave a quick bow of her head and left to go kick out the last of the servants and deliver the message to Legolas.

Lothril took her time changing and started focusing on what she was about to do. Strictly speaking, she had wanted to wait a few weeks more to be more confident in her ability to edit certain elements of memories, but he needed a little bit of doubt and uncertainty removed. He was strained and stressed and she had noticed it mounting in him for weeks now.

She mechanically stripped off the rest of her clothes and got distracted momentarily by trying to figure out what she wanted to wear now. She opted for a warm and comfy velvet dress that would only need her to add a robe to make it suitable for dinner, and skipped the belt for the time being and immediately turned her attention back to her memories.

She came out to find her rooms completely empty except for Legolas who was sitting in front of her fire, a couple fresh logs thrown on, staring vacantly into the flames. She sat and he turned his gaze to her.

She leaned in and kissed him gently then asked, "Are you ready?"

"Tannog nin,(show me)" he said quietly.

She nodded and opened her mind to him. Unlike when she unceremoniously dumped her memories out for Elrond with a swirling mass of muddled thoughts and emotions, this was calm and orderly. She started at her earliest recollections and traced things as chronologically as she could, emotions set aside though he could still feel them. At first it just felt uncomfortable and unpredictable but then slowly things began to feel uneasy and then tense and then suddenly it felt strange, confusing, guilty, and wrong. Her face was still calm, her memories were still orderly, and as she occasionally narrated roughly how much time passed between memories her mental voice was calm and measured. As the memories strayed into the darkest parts of her recollections he was struck by the conflicting emotions she was recalling thoughts, emotions, images, the smells, and to a far lesser degree, how things felt; but he suspected that was one of the things she was trying suppress a bit even though it seemed fairly intrinsic to the whole horrible thing. It pained him to see these things. Even though he knew, even though she had told him everything accurately and in detail, it was very different to see those memories. Suddenly her mind went blank and then he felt and heard more memories as she very carefully kept the images out of her head but her thoughts, feelings, and emotions intensified and then came the moment of decision that she would not let this happen again and the weird mix of relief, worry, doubt, and guilt she felt as she left. She was free…to a small degree…

He felt her determination to bury this so deeply that it would never see the light of day again and force herself to move on. And she did, to some degree… but then something would always happen to bring the memories back before she would lock them away again, deeper than before. By now he half expected her to end things, but she kept going. She skipped to her telling Elrond and how she felt afterwards and how utterly ashamed she felt, then how relieved she felt when he was able to convince her she was not to blame… then after the first day, her sitting in her room thinking through things and having a near paralyzing fear grip her – what if Legolas found out? Then almost immediately she found herself almost hoping he would, even wanting him to know but lacking the courage or strength to tell him…

That alone almost made him weep. She wanted to share her deepest secrets with him. She trusted him that much even then. She thought he was a faithful, trusty, and safe confidant. He knew now she saw him that way, but seeing such a raw and early form of that trust… even before he knew he loved her…It didn't even matter to him that she didn't tell him for several months more, the very idea that she wanted to was enough. More than enough.

This was rapidly turning into a much deeper dive into the lake of her feelings than he supposed it would be at the outset and he was just now realizing how deep they had gone and how much deeper they were going.

They skipped ahead to when she awoke in Lothlórien and their conversation up in her little guest house. She had so badly wanted to open up to him then… she was so wanting to open her heart and pour it out for him, but she couldn't quite bring herself to it, but she had been teetering right on the edge. He had judged it all rightly but he had not realized how little it would have taken to nudge her over it. Ah well. Then the next morning when he finally told her how he felt – he had not opened the door to allow her to share herself with him, he had removed it from the hinges and cast it aside. That was how she had found the courage to finally tell him about her past…because he had torn down her barriers and she had been desperate to let him but couldn't do it alone. Then she showed him the trepidation she felt as she told him and the utter and absolutely complete relief that washed through her when she tried to give him an out and he kissed her instead. If his telling her he loved her removed the door between them, that kiss demolished all the barriers between them. She knew she could trust him now with everything – body, mind, and soul.

She jumped to battle… each time she felt she might be overwhelmed by the enemy, he would appear without fail. She knew if she called for him if it was remotely possible he would come to her or send aid to her. Then she jumped to after the Battle of Pelannor Fields when he was helping tend her wound. There was not a moment of worry or concern in her mind that he would try or even think something he shouldn't even though she was in a very exposed and vulnerable position. She knew he wouldn't. It was why after the war she had no problem sharing a tent with just him… why she had no problem inviting him into her bed… she knew she could trust him to be the opposite of Matilda. To respect her, to not push her, to not do anything that would make her uncomfortable, let alone offend or violate her. She knew she could trust him implicitly. She also knew he was doing everything in his power to keep her safe and she felt safe. Incredibly safe. Even though some of the blows came close, she knew he was right there and if he could not stop it, he would see her through it. He was there… he was reliable… he was trustworthy…he was faithful…he loved her.

She withdrew from his mind.

"There," she said, sounding weary, "Those are the memories."

He nodded and looked like he was going to cry. "Oh Lothril… Lothril, I…When you told me what happened, you described it all well and withheld nothing. Seeing it though…" he shook his head. "I did not understand how you thought you were guilty. I did not understand your thoughts and feelings about it all, but I understand now. I also understand now what you meant about me not being able to hurt you accidentally and for as reassuring as your words were… this has removed the last of those fears. I…I am at a loss for words. Thank you, Lothril."

"You are welcome," she said and leaned in and gave him a kiss. He felt overwhelmed by the wild range of emotions. He was even more livid, angry, and wrathful about what Matilda had done to her, but then he was nearly drowning in joy and love at seeing how much she trusted him and loved him. "How are you feeling? Do you need to talk about it?"

He gave an almost bitter sounding laugh. "I should be the one to ask you that – and as if you do not know from that kiss! How do you feel having to relive those memories like that?"

She shrugged. "I have gone through those dark memories so many times now – I cannot say it is easy but it is not as traumatic as you might think. It is actually a little bit of a relief in a weird way because now I can talk about specific things and know that you know exactly what I am talking about without having to explain it. The other memories though… I have been wanting to share those for a while and now just seemed like the right time. But how are you feeling? It is a lot to have dumped on you at once."

He leaned back and sighed. "Your dark memories were not as overwhelming as they could have been. I am glad you told me first and I pity Elrond for getting all that at once."

"I guess afterwards he went out and destroyed a practice dummy with his sword and scared Glorfindel a little," Lothril said with a frown.

"I understand why," Legolas said. "Now though I am mostly angry I did not avenge you when I had the chance."

"I am glad you did not though. I needed your help hunting orcs and it would not have helped to have you locked away in prison and waiting for the Valar to spring you by bringing you back here," Lothril replied.

"At the same time, I am also angry with myself for failing to keep you safe and I almost feel unworthy of such implicit trust as you have given me. I feel like I have failed you," he said bitterly.

She shook her head. "You have not failed me. Not in the slightest. And you have kept me safe. That is why the horse is beaten up and I am unscathed. That is why I showed you those more recent memories. To show you how safe and protected I feel with you."

"You are being too kind," he spat, leaning forward and burying his face in his hands.

She put a hand on his back and began soothingly rubbing it up and down. "I am being honest. You are being too hard on yourself Legolas. You have been doing an excellent job. The biggest problem is, it is obvious this elleth is not particularly hands on or crafty and that is why her traps are all so far apart and been so uncomplicated and simple… until today… But if it is as badly constructed as I think it was, it will at least confirm it is more like to be a friend of Gormes verses one of the Gardeners Afield or one of the huntresses."

Legolas sat up straight and a faint smile teased the corners of his mouth. "If it is one of our huntresses, I will eat my boots. Nearly all of them have been married since before we built these halls, some of them even before I met them. And all of them are clever and crafty enough to set a basic trap that would not rely on a high volume of various sized branches haphazardly flying about to accomplish their goal. Besides, they all adore you."

"I am almost certain it is a friend of Gormes. Especially after you told me why you had that hunch. I think you are on the mark with that idea," Lothril replied.

Silence fell between them for a few minutes and Lothril studied Legolas' face as he stared into the fire. He might have set aside his worries yesterday, but clearly they had returned in full force today and it made Lothril sad and frustrated. He stirred a little but kept watching the flames as he asked, "What do you have in mind for drawing out your attacker?"

"Well, I have a couple ideas in my head but I am not sure which one, if any, will work. One is a charity archery tournament or exhibition of sorts with a luncheon or something after. Like, they are invited and they pay a certain amount for a certain number of arrows and the proceeds go to help the poor in the kingdom or Dale or something. Of course, we would make sure the arrows are all relatively blunt tips and I would probably refrain from eating or drinking during lunch. Another idea I had is basically the same but without the archery tournament. Just extend an invitation for a dinner or something and see which of them glares at me or tries to slip something into my drink or something," she answered. "They are not great ideas, but I am still getting used to things here."

"Make me the bait," Legolas said.

"Well…okay, but how and why?"

"Let us do a dinner party and we shall make it clear in the invitation that I shall be there for it. Your attacker may try to avoid you just out of hatred, but if you are right about her being like Maeglin, I wager she will seize any opportunity to be near me. Maeglin did not want to spend time with Tuor, he wanted to be with Idril."

Lothril thought about it for a second. "I think you are right. And if you pay some attention to her, she may wind up confessing something incriminating and then we can take her into custody without incident."

"Exactly."

"Then that is the plan we will tell your father. Do you suppose he will go for it?"

"I think he will," Legolas answered.

Dinner that night was just the three of them. As he had been doing for the last four or five weeks since the kidney bean incident, Thranduil had been giving them daily updates on what they had learned and progress made, if any. First thing though, as soon as Lothril entered the dining room, Thranduil apologized to her for snapping at her earlier, which Lothril had completely forgotten about it and told him not to worry about it.

"You were correct, Lothril. It was a crude trap, to say the least," Thranduil said. "It is a wonder it managed to hold together through the snow storm."

"So she was basically just hoping if she threw enough sticks at me I would I get hurt," Lothril said, more as a statement than anything else.

"So it seems. The intent is obvious, she wanted to injure you and I think it more than safe to assume that from henceforth everything she does will become more aggressive and dangerous," Thranduil said.

"I agree," Legolas said.

"As well, we have started investigating the names on the list from Estelneth. One of them married during enderi and neither she nor her husband have been seen outside their house since, one became betrothed just before the hunt, two have been married for centuries, one of which being Salabien who you saw at the fire," Thranduil said, looking at Legolas, "which leaves Rhovaneth, daughter of Lord Gadron and Thuringwen who is a relation of Gormes. Both of them live in close enough proximity to the palace and are familiar enough faces to be generally recognized and raise no suspicions if they are seen wandering about, so we are looking into both of them."

"Ah yes, Rhovaneth… We have been friendly with each other over the years and I do recall at one point she expressed interest in me, but I never returned her interest or affections," Legolas said.

"Then perhaps she was content with your rejection as long as you were alone, but could not accept you being with another," Thranduil said. "What of Thuringwen?"

"I barely know her at all. I can place her face and after Lothril said she was there when we left for the hunt, I recall seeing her, but our speaking together has been nothing but polite and in passing."

"Then Rhovaneth seems like the more likely of the two," Thranduil said.

"Only sort of. Do we think Rhovaneth is so close to Gormes that Gormes would contact her first… and that me supposedly slighting and dishonoring or whatever else she said I did would make her angry enough to come after me? And… well, I suppose it was nothing but a theory anyway, but what about the jealous elleth theory? I mean, I suppose I could have put the theory before the evidence, but at the same time… I can't shake the feeling whoever it is thinks I am not good enough for Legolas. And why wait until after Tulussil is finally free to become betrothed to Nethor but before anything is made official between them? Those two only made things official two weeks ago. These attacks have been what? five weeks? No… I think it might be Thuringwen. If she's related to Gormes, Gormes would likely have reached out to her own kin first and told her everything. Then Himben would have probably told Gormes who in turn would have mentioned it to Thuringwen that Tulussil was looking to become betrothed to Nethor the farrier."

The two ellyn looked rather thoughtful at that. "Then perhaps it is not half so much she is jealous of you being with me as she is upset that things in her family have gone so wrong since you interfered, at least from her perspective," Legolas said.

"Could be. But remember Gormes made some comment about it being a shame you and Tulussil never worked out? Maybe Thuringwen was willing to sacrifice her chances with you for sake of Tulussil and Gormes, but once Tulussil took herself out of the running for your affections, she figured it was her chance," Lothril said.

"Both of them seem plausible to me, and so we shall investigate both thoroughly and make specific inquiries," Thranduil said.

"Oh, Thranduil, do you know how the horse is doing?" Lothril asked.

"When I left they had him in his stall and Taraves was still examining him and Brenion was working on cleaning and binding all the wounds. They had him asleep so he would not be in pain or fighting them, so I cannot say how he was looking besides asleep. Do not worry much though, as long as his heart or lungs were not punctured, I think he will pull through. I have seen Brenion all but resurrect the dead with sheer stubbornness and will when one of his horses has been sick or injured. He will not give up until it is plain there is nothing that can be done," Thranduil answered. "And I noticed your horse was unscathed, Legolas."

"Thundercloud is my war horse. He sensed the danger before I did and was trying to move me from harm when I leapt from his back to Lothril. When he saw I was fine he returned to the stable," Legolas answered.

"Actually, he did more than that. Brenion said Thundercloud reached him mere moments after he heard Silverlight screaming and herded him out the door before returning to his stable. He was sending help," Thranduil said.

Legolas' face split into a wide smile. "I think I owe someone carrots and a salt lick."

"Wait until morning. I imagine by then things will have calmed down with Silverlight and then," Thranduil commented.

After a brief discussion of their plan to possibly draw out Lothril's attacker and Thranduil's subsequent tentative and conditional approval, the conversation drifted away from serious matters and when they were about done Thranduil asked Lothril if she would mind waiting for them in the game room with the peach brandy while he had a brief word with Legolas. She didn't mind in the slightest and was honestly growing accustomed to Thranduil wanting to pull one or the other of them off to the side for a private conversation. It wasn't that he was secretive, but rather that he was used to be highly discreet, which was something she appreciated immensely.

As soon as she was gone, Thranduil looked at Legolas and asked, "Are you still upset that I did not allow you to return to the paddock?"

Legolas shook his head slightly and said, "No, I cannot say that I am. There is a conversation we knew we needed to have for some weeks now and today was the time we needed to have it."

"Why did you wait so long if you knew you needed to talk?" Thranduil asked.

Legolas paused a moment to figure out how he wanted to word his reply. "Time was needed to prepare for it and we both knew and understood that and agreed to wait until we were prepared and ready."

Thranduil raised a brow. "Should I be concerned?"

The faintest little smile teased Legolas' mouth. "Not at all."

That night as they lay in bed with her head on his chest and his arm around her holding her close to himself she asked, "How are you feeling? You seemed a bit better after your talk with your father."

"I am still thinking through everything," he said. "But I do feel better."

"You and your father talk about anything I need to know about?" she asked.

He shook his head slightly and said, "Nay, he only wanted to be sure I was not still angry with him."

"He is very conscientious about such things, isn't he?" Lothril said thoughtfully as she began absentmindedly rubbing small circles on his tunic with her fingers.

"Very."

"I admit I was surprised when he apologized for being a little snappy at me earlier."

"As you said, very conscientious," Legolas said. Cozy silence was between them for a moment before Legolas spoke again. "For as tense and taught as I have felt the last few weeks, being here beside you each night has dulled those feelings and been a comfort to me. You are a comfort to me, Lothril. One I am very grateful for."

"I feel the same way. I am going to miss you being in here when whichever elleth is caught," Lothril replied, snuggling in a little closer and moving her arm so she was almost hugging his chest.

"We were doing this before, just not every night," Legolas said. "And soon we shall do this every night for the rest of our very, very long lives."

She smiled. "Soon… but I will miss you in the meantime."

"As will I. I suppose though, if you are agreeable to it, we could make this a more regular thing than it was," Legolas said. "Estelneth is not scandalized by it, I think."

"Yes, but surely your servants have noticed they haven't had to make your bed for a few weeks," Lothril replied.

"I care not. They know better than to say anything," Legolas said dismissively.

"It is tempting at that… and I must say, even though I still cannot tell the difference between single and married elves, I am very glad everyone else can. It makes inviting you to be here every night almost impossible to resist," she said quietly.

"Traditionally this would not really happen because each elf would be in their own home or the home of their father and mother. However, there is also nothing against it as we can tell at a glance if one is married or not. So in truth, this is simply nothing more or less than unusual," he replied.

"Well if anything then, I should be the one moving into your rooms as that is where we will be after we wed," she said with a flirty little edge to her voice.

"Perhaps… but I think it better this way for now," Legolas answered.

"Why is that?"

He hesitated… he didn't want to tell her everything he was doing, but he was not about to lie. "I am doing some remodeling in preparation for our marriage. I would hate for you to have to live with the mess that always accompanies such things."

She gave a nod and he loved the fact he could feel it. "Alright. Then perhaps we can do this more even after she is caught."

Legolas gave a low chuckle. "I am so proud of you! Truly! That are you are even considering letting me be a frequenter in your bed ere we are wed is progress beyond anything I would have believed possible back in Minas Tirith when we started being counseled by Elrond."

She sighed. "Oh Elrond… how I miss him!"

"I know. He shall be here come spring though. If you like, I will gladly let you both spend days alone together when he arrives so you both may catch up."

"That is a sweet offer, Mellothon, but I want you there for some of it too. I feel like I have made a good deal of progress these last few months, but there are still things I want to talk with him about and with you."

"We will talk with him as much as you need, melethril. But you truly have made a good deal of progress and I am so very proud of you," he said before turning his head and kissing her head.

"Hey now, you missed my lips," Lothril teased as she raised herself up on one elbow and kissed him.