A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to update, my life is getting crazy right now, hopefully it will settle soon.

Chapter Four

I sighed and sat on my bed, crushed. Mandir had interrupted our conversation, and now my chance of speaking truthfully with my father was gone.

Mandir had brought into the room an uncomfortable feeling of separation and silence as he delivered his message. He'd told us, my father and I, that the men from Lake Town were getting angry with the trades our people were making with them.

My father had instantly looked tired, as if this news had sapped all his energy and life right out of him. The two of them had left then, muttering about 'mortals' and 'paperwork'.

They left me, sitting here on my bed, my head hurting with the knowledge that Mandir had just snatched my father away from me. I moaned and cradled my head in my hands. After a few minutes, I stood and walked briskly towards the door; head high, a regal and almost haughty look on my face.

As I crossed my room, I caught sight of my face in the mirror on my wall. I froze, and then turned to get a better look. With a start, I realized that I looked just like my father! How many times had I seen that proud, kingly look grace my father's chiseled features? I leaned closer, studying my face. For a moment, it seemed like my father was staring back at me! I gasped and staggered backward, then shook my head at my foolishness.

There was no way I could ever be the leader my father had been before Mandir, but I would not allow myself to fall into the trap my father now struggled against. I turned and stared out the window, my face set in hard determination. I was not going to let my kingdom fall to the hands of that worthless advisor! I would take my place as king, royal bloodlines guarantied that. I was going to fix things before they got too much out of hand.

Mandir watched Thranduil pour over the mountain of paperwork that loomed up on the desk, casting a large shadow over the king. Mandir smirked, that would keep Thranduil out of the way for a while, now he needed to arrange for some wine to be sent to Legolas's room.

Mandir slipped out of Thranduil's study and snaked down the hallways, looking for the prince. He slipped his hand into his robe's deep pockets. Lying nestled in the depths of one of his pockets was a small vial, containing a crimson liquid that looked like wine. But that crimson liquid was really a lethal potion made of two kinds of herbs and a root: Spidersbane, Moonleaf, and Dragonsblood root. Altogether the three ingredients became a deadly poison that killed almost instantly. The Spidersbane would numb the victim, the Moonleaf would make them feel drowsy and the Dragonsblood root would quickly eat away at the insides, killing the victim while it slept. It was perfect, as soon as Legolas commanded a flask of wine to be brought to him, Mandir would find a way to slip the potion into the wine and the prince would be found dead in his room.

I quietly promised myself that I would not let Mandir rule me by fear, as a prince my ranking was higher then the advisor, and it was time Mandir figured that out.

I was about to turn away from the window to go speak with my father, when I saw Simi at the courtyards doors again. She was dressed in the usual guard's outfit of loose white shirt, leather tunic, leather breeches and knee high deerskin boots. Strapped around her waist was a belt with a long sheath containing a long dagger, and her bow and quiver hung between her shoulders.

I smiled softly, it was time to make things right with Simi, she was too good of a friend to let go so easily. Turning, I strode towards the door and headed for the courtyard.

I entered the courtyard and headed over to the stables, trying to work up my nerve to talk to Simi. I closed the stable doors behind me and walked over to a stall in the back of the stable.

Inside was a red roan mare with brown speckles dotting its hindquarters and face. I smiled and let myself into the stall. "Mára aurë bain." (Pronunciation: Mah-rah ow-ray bane.) ((Translation: Hello beautiful.)) I murmured, stroking the mare's head. "Manen nalyë Síla?" (Pronunciation: Mah-nehn nahl-yay SEE-la?) ((Translation: How are you Star?))

Star nickered softly, blowing a jet of warm air in my face. I sighed quietly and put my arms around her neck. "Ahh Síla… what am I going to do…?" I asked, breathing in her warm horsy smell. Somehow, just being around the mare gave me comfort.

I had owned Síla since my 990th birthday, and she and I had become good friends over the years, moving past the 'horse and master' idea into the 'friends' role that suited us much better then 'master' ever did. Star was getting old now and lived a life of a fat retired horse, but once and a while we still went for rides.

Even though it was supposed to be the groom's job to brush and clean Síla, occasionally I would brush her, more for my comfort then hers. Moving over to the box of brushes in the corner, I grabbed up the stiff brush and began to knock off the odd bits of hay in Síla's coat. "Okay, I'm going to go now, be good." I murmured, patting her neck fondly before moving towards the stall door.

Suddenly Mandir's voice slithered down the hall, sending chills creeping up my arms. I ducked down, pressing my back against the stall door and pulling my knees up to my chest. I hugged my legs and rested my chin on my kneecaps, closing my eyes tightly, hoping that Mandir would not find me.

"…Trust you?" Mandir voice inquired.

"You can." Confirmed a second voice, one I was not as familiar with. The footsteps stopped just a few feet away from my stall door, I heard a rustle of paper and I barely suppressed the urge to raise my head to see what it was.

"I want you to visit the prince, do anything to get him to order a flask of wine and slip this into the drink. It is just a small quantity, so do not loose it!" Mandir instructed. "Do you understand?"

The second voice hesitated then answered. "I…Yes. If I do as you ask, the prince will be dead by morning."

This time, I couldn't resist looking, I turning slightly, kneeling in the soft straw bedding of Star's stall. I peeked over the edge of the stall door and my eyes widened as I saw the figure Mandir had been speaking to. It was Ayden, one of the guards! The thing that made me remember him most though, was that he had been Orophear's best friend. My brother's best friend was going to kill me?

I slowly sank back behind the stall door, my mind refusing to register what had happened. The picture of Ayden standing there, taking a deadly looking white packet from Mandir, chilled me to the bone. What was in the paper packet, I wondered. Poison. It was the only possible answer judging from Ayden and Mandir's conversation. More talk startled me and I jumped, much to my chagrin.

"If you do what I ask?! He'd better be dead. I don't want to see him again, you hear me?" Mandir snarled.

Oh Eru…Mandir was so awful! He sent shivers down my spine. Much to my own horror, I realized I was afraid of this advisor. That made me angry. Mandir wasn't going to scare me anymore! I felt like jumping up and screaming at him. 'See! I'm not scared anymore! You hear!? I'm not scared anymore!' Of course that would be stupid.

"Yes! Yes! I understand! You can trust me!" Ayden sounded panicky, like he was having a hard time convincing Mandir that he was trust-worthy.

Mentally, I snorted in disgust. This wasn't the Ayden I remembered. Ayden and my brother had been life-long friends. Once, Orophear had confided in me that Ayden knew all his secrets. "All?" I had asked in disbelief. "All." He had confirmed, a distant look in his eyes. He had turned to smile at me then, his eyes shinning kindly. "Ayden is trust-worthy, little brother." He had said. "I'd trust him with my life." I smiled ironically as I remembered my response. I had naively said, "Well. If you can trust him with your life, then I can trust him with mine." We had both laughed then, and my smile softened, remembering my brother.

"I hope, for your sake, that I can." Mandir's voice wormed like a snake through my thoughts, jolting me from my trip down memory lane. A crackle ripped through the air and I heard Mandir whisper. "Do not let me down…the consequences will be fatal if you do...Heniach nin?" (Pronunciation: Hen-ee-akh neen) ((Translation: Do you understand me?))

I peeked over the edge of the stall door, moving slowly so as to not attract attention to myself. Mandir had one hand on Ayden's shoulder and had been whispering in his ear. When Ayden didn't answer, Mandir drew back and slapped Ayden hard across the cheek. Ayden's head was whipped to one side and an ugly, mottled bruise began to form on his left cheek.

"I said…" Mandir began, and then lunged forward, grabbing Ayden by the throat and pinning him to the wall. "Do you understand me?" He hissed, his face inches from Ayden's.

Ayden's eyes were wide and he nodded, his lips parted slightly as he fought to breathe. His hands fumbled helplessly at Mandir's grasp on his neck as he wheezed for air. His brown eyes were panicked as his air supply was withheld from him. My heart clenched in worry and pity. Even if this elf had been given orders to kill me, he was still my brother's friend…right?

Mandir held him there a moment longer then stepped back, letting go of his hold on Ayden's neck. He watched coldly as the elf fell weakly to the floor, gasping, choking, and gulping for sweet air that had recently deprived of him. "See to it that you do not fail me. You know now what awaits you if you fail." And with that, my father's advisor turned on his heel, his rich red clothes swirling about his ankles, and briskly walked out.

I slowly sank back down as Ayden got to his feet. The image of Ayden's bruised face hardening in fear as he was strangled haunted me and I couldn't chase it from my mind. I heard Ayden moving away slowly and I closed my eyes, resting my forehead on my knees. What was I going to do now?