Criminal

Dear Idril,

I hope this reaches you in time. If you have yet to notice the trend, your father is sending monster after you. I'm glad you have someone to protect you. But that someone is about to cause a lot of problems.

The dragon that terrorized the town and that spoke to your Elessar, told every detail to the king. The king has been waiting to capture Elessar and behead him since he escaped, end has been do worried about you he's about given himself an ulcer. So, when the dragon returns, you can expect the kings army to be surrounding the whole city. He's going to misunderstand the town until he finds you two.

So, you can run and save yourself while the dragon slaughters the whole town or manage to kill the dragon and watch Elessar die. Either way you're not safe. Your father has been slightly psychotic since you left. I'm assuming by now you've figured out no one knows of your existence.... If you haven't, I'm sorry to break the news so casually. Anyway, I've tried to calm him down and stop him from releasing all these beasts. But he refuses to see reason. Especially since he heard your magik song was created for Elessar. I'm afraid he'll kill you along with Elessar if he captures both of you. You're far too dangerous now that you know the truth, and he doesn't want to risk you escaping again.

I know your kindness won't allow you to let the whole villiage die for you, and Elessar probably feels the same way. So be careful, you two. And charish every second you have left with each other, as they may be your last.



Why would father do this? He will sacrifice a whole town just to see me captured and Elessar beheaded. He's gone mad! I hope Elwe wasn't harmed for sending the letter. He is a great friend for taking such a risk.

I looked over at Elessar and then to Corinth. They sat in identical chairs across the room from each other. They had their right ankle sitting upon their left knee with their elbows on their thighs and face in their palms. A small crease, indicating they up are focussing extremely hard, had formed between both of their brows. They have been sitting this way for hours. Their frozen forms and the complete silence is maddening! I understand why they are so intent in figuring out how to proceed but they should taker a break...

"Any plans yet? " I asked impatiently.

"No... At least not one with a good ending." Corinth sighed.

"It's looking very hopeless." Elessar groaned and dropped his forehead into his hands. It broke my heart to see him like this. He was staring death in the face and knew no matter what he chose he could not change his fate.

I walked over and knelt in front of him. I tried to gently pull his hands from his face. "Hey." I called quietly. "We'll get through this."

He pulled his head from his hands and looked down at me, the threat of tears lingering in his eyes. "Maybe you will, but I fear there's no way for me to live through this. I'll meet my end just as Tathar had."

"Who is Tathar?" I questioned.

"He's the reason I refuse to fully trust anyone." He sighed. "He was my best friend, we met in jail. We escaped together and then headed separate ways because he wanted to care for his dying mother and I wanted to travel. In the end he was captured and beheaded because he fell in love with a girl and she turned him in."

"Is that why you refuse to believe my song was specifically for you? Because you thought if you trusted me for just one second you would get turned in?" He nodded. "Well you were wrong, we were happy for at least two seconds before I brought death to your doorstep." I smiled halfheartedly. He chuckled and pulled me up on his lap and into a hug. He buried his head in my shoulder.

I was frozen with surprise. He wasn't recoiling or yelling at me or promising not to acknowledge that it happened. He was simply enjoying and cherishing our last few moments, as Elwe suggested.

"Maybe Tathar didn't have it all that bad." He sighed quietly into my hair. My heart sped up and my ring glowed brighter, struggling to contain my magik's excitement. A shiver rolled down my spine. Did he mean that because of me? Does he...? No he couldn't. If he did, he wouldn't say it like that. He probably is just saying women used to be one night stands in his eyes, and now that he's gotten to know me he will act differently around them.... If he lives.

Wait, he could really die. And never come back, he'd be gone forever... I cannot even comprehend a world or day without him. His constantly shifting moods and over confident attitude have become part of my normal, consistent life. How will I go on if I'm to be trapped in my tower for the rest of my life? No Elessar, no light tug of my magik towards his, no laughter, no friends, no happiness... No... love.

Tears formed in my eyes. The king will have to kill me alongside him. I refuse to be locked up again after experiencing life. A thumb wiped away my tears and startled me.

"What's wrong?" Elessar asked, peering down into my eyes.

"I don't want to be locked in my room again. I want to keep traveling, to see and experience the world. I've barely been traveling for a month and we're already trapped.

"Not exactly..." Corinth spoke up. I had forgotten she was there... Heat rushed to my face and an overwhelming amount of awkwardness rose above all my other emotions. I shifted in Elessar's lap trying to move to the floor, but he held me tighter to his chest.

"Remember when the humans were angry with their leader?" She continued.

"They used magik to send moving pictures to all the cities to recruit help..." Elessar said and his eyes lit up. "That's perfect!"

"But not enough people dislike the king enough to oppose him." I said and sighed. Elessar turned his head to the side as if he had expected me to refer to the king as my father. We may be related by blood but he is nothing to me.

"They could." Corinth smirked. "If you show your royalty mark and explain everything. Then explain about the dragon and the army, and the serpent monster that attacked my home. Then maybe throw in how Elessar was imprisoned for saving his family and how he's going put his life on the line for this small city. That's bound to work!" She exclaimed and smiled. Hope thrived in her mind. I could see by the way she bounced slightly in excitement and played with her fingers, she believed this would save us.

"I'll go ask the innkeeper if she can set up a town meeting," Elessar said, I moved off his lap and he left. Corinth gave me a look that said 'you have completely fallen for him'. I sighed in defeat.

"You are amazing." She said.

"What?" I hadn't expected that.

"I have never seen him act like that towards a girl ever. And I've know him his whole life... Before that whole Tathar thing." She looked dazed. "The way he looked at you and held you ... It looked like you were his whole life."

"No..." I looked down at my hands an blushed. "It's just the magik..."

She gave me a dirty look. "Don't lie to me. I saw your ring start glowing and work on overdrive to calm you magik. That was all natural."

"So what it was, that doesn't mean he feels that way about me. He probably thinks of me as a little sister; annoying but when it really comes down to it he doesn't want me to die." I muttered.

"Think what you want, but I know what I see." She shrugged and we fell into silence. Elessar walked as if he could sense the tension in the room.

"She's gathering everyone in the town now but we need to figure out how to do that magik screen in every village thing." He also looked excited, as if we actually stood a chance.

"I know how, but I don't know if I have enough magik." Corinth frowned, Elessar walked over to his leather pouch and grabbed a small vial with a blue liquid inside.

"You told me it save it so I did... You must be psychic." Elessar and handed her the vial. She drank it and nodded, thanking him.

"Or psychotic..." I offered and they both chuckled.

A minuscule amount of moments, and an eternity of silence later the innkeeper came in and lead all of us to a large stage in the town square. It was slightly charred on the left but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose, especially when a dragon has attacked the town.

Before I walked on stage Elessar explained how other towns would see this, and we were only doing it to get help. I took a deep breath and worked to remember all my speech training I had taken to pass time when I was younger. I then looked to Corinth she gave me a thumbs up telling me the magik was working and I took up my spot on center stage. My heart beat faster, my hands shook, and my pulse thundered in my ears. Elessar took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while smiling at me. If he thinks I can do this, I can, and will do this. I sucked in one last deep breath.

"Hello, I am Idril." I waved awkwardly and smiled. "And I am in serious need of your assistance. But I'll get to that in a minute, first I think you deserve to know who, exactly, I am..."