XIX. Collateral Damage

            “What are you?”

            “Elleth,” I spoke.

            Halian smiled. “Your name?”

            “Im Nimalia eston.”

            “Do not sound so confident, I am teaching you basics.” Halian adjusted herself on my bed. “Now, let me teach you some new phrases.”

            “I am ready.” For some reason, I straightened my back out.

            “Do not sit so erect, I am not the king.” She giggled. I slumped against the plush pillows behind me. “Listen carefully. Remember, enunciation is everything.”

            “You act as though you are the creator of the language.”

            “Listen.” Her blue eyes narrowed. “Berio nin.” I repeated the small phrase. “It means ‘save me’. I could teach you some…naughty phrases.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. I immediately felt uncomfortable.

            “We go from basics to those? What good would they do me?”

            “You could find yourself a mate and he may only speak Elvish. You may become very intimate with him and—”

            “Daro,” I spat, waving my hands wildly at her. “No more. Do not go any further than that!”

            Halian laughed. “I enjoy seeing you look so innocent to such a topic.”

            “You are not?” I raised an inquiring eyebrow.

            “Oh, I am. I have never done such a thing. No one here suits me. As much as I want to find my mate, my fear holds me back.”

            “Well, whenever I choose to leave, I will take you with me.” I smiled.

            “All right, here are a few good ones. Gi melin. De melin.” She took a second to think up more phrases. “Ci velethron e-guilen.”

            “I am sensing a pattern.”

            “They all pertain to love.” She batted her eyelashes.

            I snorted. “Where are you going with this, Halian?”

            “Nowhere.”

            “You lie.”

            She shrugged. “Those are just a few good things to know if you find your soul mate.”

            “Can I know what they mean?”

            “The first was ‘I love you’. The second was ‘I love him or her’, depending on who you are speaking about. The last one is ‘you are the love of my life’.”

            “I do not think I will ever speak such phrases.”

            “You may. I am sure you will charm an ellon one day and you both will have each other’s hearts.” She sighed dreamily.

            “I think leaving Greenwood will do you some good.” I laughed. “You have been here so long that you are fantasizing other’s love lives.”

            The sound of approaching feet made us look towards my room’s entrance. Halian and I exchanged puzzled looks as guards came into my room. I got off the bed, feeling intruded upon.

            “And what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked sourly.

            “We are conducting a thorough search,” one of the guards spoke up. “Just as a precaution to rule you out as a suspect. It will not take long. If you would keep out of our way, that would work best.”

            I pulled Halian close to me as the guards began tearing my room apart. They looked on the nightstand and pulled everything off my bed.

            “You will find nothing here,” I stated boldly. “I have committed no crime. I have nothing to hide.”

            “Are you so sure of that?”

            “Pardon?”

            The guard whom I was speaking with rummaged around in one of the pillowcases. I watched him with narrowed eyes. What did he expect to find?

            He somehow found something, because he slowly turned his head and his eyes settled on me. He was noticeably tense; his companions realized he had stopped. They all froze too to look at him.

            “Sir?” one asked.

            “Seize her,” was all the leader whispered.

            “What?” I exclaimed as two guards came for me. They pried Halian and me apart, nearly pushing her into one of the brick walls. “What do you think you are doing?! Leithio nin! Leithio nin!”

            “Not likely.”

            I wrestled against my captors. “I have done nothing wrong!”

            “Oh, really?” The leader pulled out a small vial from my pillowcase.

 My mouth hit the ground; I heard a shocked gasp leave Halian’s lips. What is this madness? How…? My mind was clouded; I could not get my thoughts separate. They were all tumbling together into one big mess.

“For someone who spoke so boldly about doing nothing wrong, this suggests otherwise.” The guard walked to me, practically shoving the vial in my face. “Overconfidence, I think that is called.” He looked pretty smug himself.

“You cannot believe she is the assassin!” Halian screeched. “Let her go! She has done nothing wrong! Someone put that in her room! She would never harm anyone!”

“Keep talking, elleth, and I will take you with her. Perhaps you are innocent as well?” He was very mocking with his tone. I felt a sudden urge to break free from his companions and take my dagger to him.

“What is wrong with you? She is being set up!”

With a nod towards his companions, the guards dragged me away. Halian came running after me, but another guard held her back. She screamed at him in Elvish, words I had yet to learn. I could hear her pleading and her outrage. She knew I was innocent, but the sudden appearance of the vial suggested otherwise to the strangers who had interrupted our teaching session.

A harsh chill ran up my spine after I left the room, Halian’s cry echoed out of my room into the halls.

*     *     *

It was impossible to wrap my head around. I had gone from learning Elvish with Halian to landing myself in a dungeon in less than a day. It was my new room now, the dungeon. It was very lonely, as I was the only prisoner. If Halian had kept going with her sharp tongue, she would have landed herself along with me. I chuckled to myself, picturing Halian going on endlessly about how I was innocent and how she was not an accomplice. I shook my head.

I sat on the very uncomfortable bench that was also my bed. There was no luxury when it came to sitting in a cell. The only perk was to hear the soft waterfalls nearby, but even they did not make the dungeons a tolerable place.

Whoever this assassin was kept their tracks covered pretty well. They were clever, framing an innocent Elf for a crime she did not commit. There was a guard or two keeping watch, not that they needed to. I was not born with magic; I could not just open my door and walk out.

I knew the news had reached the king by now, surely. I wondered if he was beginning to question his trust in me. What would he do to me if he truly believed I was behind these attacks?

I was positive Legolas and Nikita heard the news as well. I snorted. Nikita would love to see this, her threat contained by a barred door. Whoever framed me had to be on Nikita’s side. This would definitely fuel her hatred for me more.

I almost began to theorize Nikita had hired this assassin but dismissed the idea when I remembered she had been the first to be poisoned. Why would she hire someone who would turn on her?

I closed my eyes, wishing I was in a better place than this. I tried to picture Lórien and all its serenity. But an illusion was not the same as the real thing. I could not feel the tender grass under my feet, nor hear the birds sing lovely songs. I could not actually see Lady Galadriel or touch her.

A low whistle made me open my eyes. I rushed to the door to see Halian on the other side.

“The guards let you visit me?” I asked.

“No, I snuck down here.” She smirked. “They are not hard to fool. They are not very watchful anyway.”

“You should go before you end up in the room beside me.”

She shook her head rebelliously. “Listen. I know what is true. There is no way you could have possibly committed those attacks. I will prove you innocent, Nim. I will do some searching and help clear your name before your sentence is given.”

“You better find better proof than an empty vial. And do not land yourself in a big mess. I do not want you to do this for me, but if I try to keep you away from it, you will only ignore me anyway.”

“You have picked up on my habits well. Oh, one more thing.” She passed my dagger through the bars carefully. “Just in case. I managed to find it before the guards came back. Keep it hidden.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Thank you, Halian. Be careful.”

“I will, I promise. You will be out of here before the wedding.”

She was giving herself a week to prove me innocent. I hoped Halian was up for the task, because what I had against me was pretty solid. She would have to catch the assassin herself to get me out of this cell.

“I have to ask…does he know?”

“Everyone does.”

“Did you see him when he was told?”

“Yes. He is as stunned as we are. I cannot say the same for Nikita, she looked shocked but it seemed false. That is how I perceived her reaction anyway.”

I snorted. “That does not surprise me; I bet she is happy that I am here.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Whatever chances of us remaining friends are gone thanks to this assassin. Even if you can get my name clear, Halian, I doubt it will change her view on me.”

“I am not doing this so you can get acceptance from her.” She scowled. “I am doing this because I do not want to lose you. I do not want you to be executed, banished, or rot in here.” She grabbed the bars. “You have had enough bad things happen to you; this false accusation will be the last.”

“Go,” I shooed her, “before someone sees you.”

“Stay strong, Nim. Do not let this cell break you.” With that parting advice, Halian scurried off before a guard could catch her visiting me.

I held back the tears in my eyes. Halian was right; I could not let this break me. I had faith that she would do everything in her power to help me. The only obstacle she had was finding the evidence that would get this accusation off my back.

This was nothing compared to what I had faced in my past. 

**Alrighty, some of you HAVE to have some questions by now if the last chapter hadn't made you think up any. Who's behind these attacks? Why frame Nimalia? And what do you think about Halian playing detective? Such a devoted friend, isn't she?**