Criminal

(Still Idril)

The day crawled on. I kept trying little things to make Elessar care about me again... Or bring back the real Elessar, as Corinth would say. At least I knew it was in there, he must be locked up tighter now because of what happened. Whenever I looked at him for too long or stood to close he would glare at me and make a point to be quite rude. Occasionally he even slipped in a comment on how he never loved me. I know it's not him, but it hurts, every one worst than the last. Is this the feeling of heartbreak? I don't like it. I want old cocky Elessar back... Or the adorable Elessar, who hardly ever showed up but never ceased to make me smile when he was there. Hell, I'd even take angry Elessar, as long as he loved me again.

I know this is my fathers doing. He wants to save himself and doesn't care what might happen to his daughters feelings, as long as he is not the one harmed it doesn't matter. I need to kill him... I might not be able to do it myself but he will die. Whether it be on the battle field or rotting in a dungeon I don't care. I want him.

I managed to keep myself busy with work and replaying different ways for my father to die in my head. After an eternity, I got to go back to the inn. I walked into our room and saw Elessar standing there with his bag in his hand.

"W-what are you doing?" My voice wavered, as I questioned him. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, dreading what the answer would be.

"I got a separate room, so that I don't have to be near you." He spoke the answer I had feared. And it was the final straw; the last dagger my heart could take. Tears began pouring from my eyes and I couldn't choke back my sobs.

"P-please don't leave." I fell to my knees in the doorway. "I won't touch you, I won't stand n-near you. Just please stay h-here with me. I might never get to see you a-again after today and I don't care if you h-hate me, just please stay." Something happened in his eyes, a slight flicker of a normal color, a whisper of my Elessar. Suddenly he had dropped his bag and pulled me into an embrace.

"I will stay." He said in a stony voice, then it became softer, more sincere. "Just please don't cry, Idril." I couldn't help but smile, it was the first time he'd used my name all day.

"Now get away from me and take that side of the room." He growled and stalked off. It still caused pain when he acted so angry at me but it doesn't matter as long as he is near I can hang on to a shred of happiness and maybe even hope.

But all that hope and happiness was ripped away from me the minute I awoke the next morning. Elessar was still asleep and I had manage to forget that he wasn't himself. So, I decided to wake him up by placing light kisses on his cheeks and neck. He stirred at first, mumbling incoherently then sat up and pushed me away.

"What the hell are you doing!" He yelled. "Get off me you no good wench! Have I not made myself clear that I have no feelings for you and that I never will? I. Do. Not. Love. You. Why can't you get that through your thick skull, and leave me the hell alone!" He shoved me off the bed and stormed out the door. What was left of my heart shattered and I couldn't help but sob. It hadn't been the words that cut so deep, it was the fact that his eyes were a brilliant green, their normal, beautiful color.

I crawled back into my bed and hid under the covers, and I cried. Everything he has done hit me like a stone wall, and that stone wall sat on my already shattered heart and crushed it into millions of smaller pieces. How could he say such a thing? What is wrong with him? What's wrong with me? I knew I shouldn't trust a criminal, I knew it! And what did I do? Not only did I put my full faith and trust in him but I fell in love with him as well. How stupid could I be? I should never have stayed with him. I should have left when I had a chance.

After who knows how long of laying in bed, the bed opened with such force it hit the wall and almost broke in two. Corinth stood in the door way.

"Idril you need to get out of bed!" She screeched. "The king... The battle is happening now!"

"What's the use? He doesn't love me. We can't control our catapult. Well, I can't do it alone." I sighed.

"Oh darling what happened." Corinth whispered and sat next to me on the bed. I guess the battle wasn't that important now.

"The truth hurts." I muttered. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted a criminal."

"Honey, you know he's not in his right mind right now." She patted my leg in a comforting gesture.

"Corinth." I said seriously and looked her in the eyes. "His eyes were green, not grey. It was him saying it."

"No, it wasn't." She mimicked my tone. "The dragon and your father's army is here now. Well only about a twenty minute march away. When that dragon gets closer it is able to use more of it's power on Elessar, and on you. Making you see his eyes a different color isn't difficult when the dragon is so close."

"It felt like it was him." I murmured, now embarrassed of the way I had been acting. I'm supposed to be a princess, a leader, not crying in a bed over a boy.

"Come on let's get you dressed." Corinth helped me out of bed and held out a new pair of clothes. It was a elegant black dress, the type I would wear back home. It had ruffles down the sides and looked almost like armor made of coal and silk. I reached out to touch it, and was surprised when it was softer than it looked.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's something I've been working on in the library the past week. It's a new magik material I've created. It's soft and light but warm and stronger then any armor. Watched." She took the foot long knife she had attached to her side and brought it down full force on the fabric and it bounced of with and ear ringing 'clang'. I stared in awe as she held the dress up to reveal nothing, not even a mark on the fabric. She then helped me into it and we headed my catapult.

That thing that used to be Elessar was sitting on it's side. I said nothing as I took the other seat.

"Why are you here?" It grumbled.

"Well, you can't move without me, so I have to be." I mimicked his tone. "Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to."

"Of course you would." It scoffed. "For some reason you love me and lead yourself to believe that those feelings are mutual."

"Ha." I barked one humorless laugh. "I'm a much better actor than you give me credit."

"What? You weren't acting." It rolled it's eyes.

"Oh really?" I kept my face still and emotionless as stone. "I'm a princess that has been locked in a castle all my life. I wanted to experience the world, not fall in love. I used you for your body. I figured you were about the best specimen I could find on such short notice." It was hard to lie to the face of the man I loved. Especially when a pained expression flashed for a slight second and his eyes wavered from dull green to emerald green and back. I wondered if the real Elessar could still see and hear what happened, and if he did, could he see my heart cracking more with every lie I told?

"What?" I weak voice said. I ignored him.

"We have a battle to win." I said coldly. "Keep any and all 'feelings' you may have out of it." With that I willed the contraption to move and in to the battle we charged.

Everyone around us let our a howl and followed behind us. Our army was larger, not as well armored, but we had better machines and a reason to fight. However, they still had a dragon. I hope the dragon had to focus most of it's attention on Elessar and not on what was happening around it.

I headed straight towards my father. He was the only thing that mattered to me in this whole battle to me. The others would protect me... Probably.

My father didn't move, it didn't even phase him that hundreds of bodies were about to hurl themselves into him. His warriors didn't so much as blink. Once we had covered half the distance he spoke.

"I wish to speak with Idril and Elessar." His voice was heard by everyone and the halted the charge. He probably broke his own law and used magik to amplify the sound of his voice. I left my guardians and warriors and stopped our catapult halfway in between my people and his. There was no way in hell I was going to ride right up to his army. He met me halfway.

"What." I growled.

"I'm here to offer you your lives." He said calmly. "You turn yourselves over to me and I won't destroy you and all of your... Assembly of misfits and law breakers."

"As if." I snorted. "You know I used to think you were a good man... I don't know how I could have been so blind."

"I'll go with him." Elessar said, I mean it said. "I'd rather live than die for you."

It started to walk away. I let it.

"If you come with me and she doesn't you'll have to fight her, and might kill her." The king pointed out with a light smirk playing on his lips. It stopped a few feet away from the king and looked over it's shoulder at me.

"I would love killing her. That little pest has burdened me for far to long, I think she even loves me." He laughed. "Loves me! She's such a stupid girl. How could a fabulous king such as yourself possibly raise such a poor excuse for an elven being." A barrage of invisible daggers and swords came out of know where and lodged themselves deep withing my heart and soul, tearing away any happiness or feelings other than pain. Tears formed and my eyes and began cascading down my cheeks, against my will.

"Perfect." The king smirked. It started again moving towards the king, and the king lifted his sword above his head. He was going to behead Elessar right in front of my eyes. I threw myself in between them and shoved Elessar to the ground behind me.

"Elessar!" I screamed, then began pleading. "No please don't!"

"You're going to protect him after all he did?" The king said snidely, lowering his weapon slightly.

"Father you don't understand! I love him!" I wailed. "Even if he truly thinks of me that way, I love him!" I wouldn't dare tell that man that I knew about his plan and what he was doing to Elessar. He'd kill us both on the spot... I was hoping to appeal to any scrap of humanity or shred of emotions he had left, to no avail.

"Well, then I'll have to kill you both." He smirked and raised his sword to deliver the death blow. Everything started happening in slow motion. Elessar grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him, placing one last kiss on my lips. He never said it, but I knew he loved me. I held onto him and enjoyed my few fleeting seconds in the world of the living embracing and kissing my one love.

I hope our deaths will throw Peltumbe into chaos, I hope it inspires the people to overthrow my father. I hope or death, or maybe even our lives means something. I also hope my fathers suffers, not only from the torture of the citizens of the kingdom, but the fact that his killing his little girl. That his hands will be forever stained with the blood of the person her helped create.

But most of all I hope Elessar knows how much I love him.